GIFT   ©F 
JANE  K.SATHER 


MAJOR  NICHOLAS  STONER, 

as  accoutred  for  the  forest. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK, 


OR  A  BIOGRAPHY  OF 


NICHOLAS  STONER  &  NATHANIEL  FOSTER ; 


TOGETHER  "WITH 


ANECDOTES  OF  OTHER  GENERATED  HUNTERS, 


AND  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF 


SIR  WILLIAM  JOHNSON, 


AND  HIS  STYLK  OP  LIVING. 


BY  JEPTHA  R.  SIMMS, 
M 

AtTTHOR  OP  THE  HISTORY  OF  SCHOHARIE  COUNTY, 
AND  BORDER  WARS  OF  NEW  YORK. 


He  lifts  the  tube,  -aid  loyels  with  h^  eye ; 

Straight  a  short  thunder  breaks  the  frozen  sky.— Pope. 


ALBANY: 

PRINTED  BY  J.  MUNSELL. 
1850. 


of, 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1850,  by 

JEPTHA  R.  SIMMS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  for  the  Northern  District  of  New  York. 


t# 


1KJNSELL,   STEREOTyTEK, 
ALBANY. ' 


TO    THE 

YOUTH  OF  NEW  YORK, 

THIS  VOLUME 

IS  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED, 

BY    THEIR    FRIEND, 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 

"  To  be  ignorant  of  all  antiquity,"  says  a  popular 
writer,*  "  is  a  mutilation  of  the  human  mind;  it  is 
early  associations  and  local  circumstances  which  give 
bent  to  the  mind  of  a  people  from  their  infancy,  and 
insensibly  constitute  the  nationality  of  genius."  This 
is  a  truism  which  can  not  be  contravened,  and  although 
the  world  is  now  full  of  books  for  good  or  ill,  yet  I 
venture  to  add  another.  Well,  as  this  is  only  a  duo 
decimo,  may  I  not  bespeak  for  it  a  little  share  of 
public  favor  ?  For  if  it  is  but  a  small  volume,  it  has 
nevertheless  required  considerable  time  and  care  to 
collect  and  arrange  its  minutiae.  The  author  does 
not  claim  for  it  a  place  among  classic  works,  which 
sparkle  with  literary  gems;  but  he  does  claim  for  it 
the  merit  of  candor.  In  a  work  purporting  to  be  one 
of  truth,,  he  would  not  impose  upon  the  credulity  of 
others,  what  he  could  not  believe  himself. 

•  I.  Disraeli. 


6     '  PREFACE. 

This  book  has  been  written  with  the  view  of  giving 
the  reader  some  knowledge  of  the  peril-environed  life 
of  a  hunter;  in  connection  with  the  early  and  topo 
graphical  history  of  a  portion  of  northern  New  York. 
As  the  forests  disappear,  the  country  is  settled  and 
wild  game  exterminated;  that  hardy  race  of  indi 
viduals  which  followed  the  chase  for  a  living  will  have 
become  extinct:  indeed,  those  who  would  have  been 
called  professional  hunters,  have  now  nearly  or  quite 
all  left  the  remaining  woods  of  New  York,  and  most 
of  them  sleep  with  their  fathers.  Many  of  their 
names  with  their  daring  adventures  are  now  forgotten. 

How  important  is  it  therefore,  to  place  on  record 
what  can  still  be  gathered  respecting  them,  to  live  in 
future  story;  when  some  American  Scott  shall  have 
arisen  to  connect  their  names  and  deeds  forever,  with 
the  rifle-mimicking  mountains,  the  awe-inspiring 
glens,  the  hill-encompassed  lakes,  and  the  zigzag- 
coursing  rivulets — upon,  within,  around,  and  along 
which  they  sought  with  noiseless  footstep  the  bounty- 
paying  wolf,  the  timid  deer,  and  fur-clad  beaver. 

I  may  remark,  that  one  motive  in  producing  this 
book  has  been,  to  contribute  materials  for  the  future 


PREFACE.  7 

history  of  the  state.  Says  an  American  scholar,* 
"  The  general  historian  must  gather  his  facts  from  the 
details  of  local  annals,  and  in  proportion  as  they  are 
wanting  must  his  labors  be  imperfect."  A  small 
budget  of  antiquarian  matter,  and  some  interesting 
incidents  of  the  American  Revolution  are  here  intro 
duced;  and  in  connection  with  this  subject,  I  will 
take  occasion  to  say,  that  I  am  collecting  original 
matter  of  an  historical  character,  with  the  intention 
of  publishing  it  at  a  future,  not  distant  day.  There 
are  yet  unpublished,  many  reminiscences  either  of,  or 
growing  out  of,  our  war  for  independence,  both  thrill 
ing  and  instructive.  Not  a  few  such  are  now  in  the 
writer's  possession.  They  are  generally  of  a  personal 
and  anecdotal  nature,*  and  many  of  them  were  noted 
down  from  the  lips  of  men  whose  heads  are  whitened 
by  the  frosts  of  time,  or  are,  now  laid  beneath  the 
valley-clods. 

If  such  an  anecdote  should  still  linger  in  the  mind 
of  a  reader  of  this  page,  or  any  old  paper  of  interest 
remain  in  his  or  her  keeping,  that  individual  would 
confer  a  favor  by  communicating  the  same  to  my  ad- 

*  William  A.  Whitehead. 


8  PREFACE. 

dress.  Our  Revolution  is  destined,  in  its  fullness  of 
benefit,  to  emancipate  the  world  from  tyranny;  and 
every  minute  incident  relating  to  that  great  struggle 
is  not  only  worthy  of  record,  but  highly  important, 
for  the  proper  understanding  of  its  cost  to  the  young, 
to  whose  guardianship  its  principles  and  advantages 
must  soon  be  confided. 

The  difficulty  of  preparing  a  work  for  the  press, 
where  much  of  the  matter  is  to  be  obtained  by  con 
versational  notes,  is  only  known  to  those  who  have 
experienced  the  task;  and  such  best  know  its  liability 
to  contain  error.  The  biography  of  Major  Stoner 
has  nearly  all  been  read  over  to  him  since  it  was 
written  out,  and  corrected;  I  can  with  confidence, 
therefore,  promise  the  reader,  as*  few  errors  in  this  as 
he  will  find  in  any  work  similarly  got  up.  In  con 
clusion,  I  would  fain  express  my  grateful  thanks  to 
those  individuals  who  have  in  any  manner  contributed 
towards  making  this  volume. 

J.  R.  SIMMS. 

FuttonvMe,  JV.  Y. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Parentage  of  Nicholas  Stoner  —  Description  of  his  person— His 
trapper's  dress  —  His  schooling  —  First  settlement  of  Fonda's 
Bush  —  Signification  of  the  name  —  First  settlement  at  Fish 
House — Some  account  of  Sir  William  Johnson  —  His  style 
of  living  at  Johnson  Hall  —  His  household  —  First  school- 
house  in  Johnstown  —  School  children  how  treated — Manners 
taught  —  Anecdote  of  Jacob  Shew  at  school  —  Schools  of  for 
mer  days  in  New  England  and  New  York  —  Johnson's  Fish 
House  when  built  —  Its  site  —  Fonda's  Bush  —  Plank-roads  and 
stage  routes  —  Village  of  Northville  —  Its  first  settlers  —  First 
settlers  at  Denton's  Corners  ....  Page  17 

CHAPTER  II. 

Reasons  for  Sir  Wm.  Johnson's  locating  in  Johnstown  —  Scenery 
between  the  Mohawk  and  Sacondaga  rivers  —  The  great  Sa- 
condaga  Vlaie — Vlaie  Creek — Its  source  and  Indian  name  — 
Origin  of  the  marsh  —  Singular  discovery  of  a  lake  —  Stack- 
ing-ridges  —  Cranberries  —  Johnson's  cottage  on  Summer- 
house  point  —  His  carriage  road  —  Nine  mile  tree  —  Sacondaga 
Patent  —  Summer-house  how  built  and  painted  — Its  garden  — 
Creeks  entering  the  Vlaie  —  Origin  of  their  names  —  Summer- 
house  point  in  freshets  —  Wild  game  —  Visit  to  the  Point  in 
1849  30 


10  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 

Signification  of  Sacondaga  —  Its  great  angle  —  Name  for  Daly's 
creek  how  originated  —  Residence  of  Henry  Wormwood  — 
Intimacy  of  Sir  William  Johnson  with  his  daughters  —  His 
signal  for  a  housekeeper  —  Four  in  a  bed  at  the  Fish  House  — 
Disposal  of  Wormwood's  family  —  Sale  of  Fish  House  and  its 
farm  —  Cost  of  Sacondaga  bridge  —  Summer  House  point  for 
tified  —  Fate  of  Johnson's  cottage  —  Willie  Boiles  drowned  — 
Sale  of  Summer  House  point  —  Mayfield  settlement  —  Its  first 
mill  —  First  mill  on  the  Kennyetto  —  Anecdotes  of  Sir  Wm. 
Johnson  —  Dunham  family  .....  42 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Nicholas  Stoner's  boyhood  —  He  enters  the  army  —  Gen.  Arnold's 
device  to  raise  the  seige  of  Fort  Stanwix  —  Evidences  of  the 
Oriskany  battle  —  Gen.  Arnold  in  the  battle  of  Saratoga  —  Sto- 
ner  and  Conyne  how  wounded  —  Three  Stoners  on  duty  in 
Rhode  Island  —  Anecdote  of  a  theft  —  Stoner  a  prisoner  — 
Capture  of  Gen.  Prescott  —  Attempt  to  capture  Stoner  and 
others  near  Johnson  Hall  —  Signification  of  Cayadutta — A 
prisoner  from  necessity 55 

CHAPTER  V. 

Baker  for  Johnstown  Fort  —  Singular  incident  at  his  house,  and 
dangerous  situation  of  Stoner  —  Residence  of  Jeremiah  Mason 
—  His  daughter  Anna  —  The  Browse  family  —  Stoner  pigeon 
hunting  —  He  takes  his  captain  on  a  hunt  —  Hunters  how 
Alarmed  —  Browse  family  remove  to  Canada  —  Maj.  Andre's 
gallows  how  constructed  —  Stoner  eats  pie  near  it  —  How  he 
got  two  floggings  —  How  the  British  army  surrendered  at 
Yorktown  —  Errors  in  pictures  —  Stoner's  first  day  at  the 
seige  —  First  fire  on  the  British  works  —  Nicholas  Hill  finds 

'  many  friends  —  Henry   Stoner    leaves    the   army  —  Is  mur- 


CONTENTS.  1] 

dered  by  the  Indians  —  Treachery  of  Andrew  Bowman  — 
His  treatment  at  Johnstown  fort  —  Prisoners  made  at  Johnson 
Hall 70 

CHAPTER  VI. 

John  Helmer  in  jail  —  Escapes  from  it  three  times  —  Stoner  in 
New  York  at  the  close  of  the  war  —  Is  one  of  the  band  per 
forms  at  Washington's  leave  taking  —  Stoner  and  his  stool 
pigeon  before  Col.  Cochrane  —  His  return  to  Johnstown  — 
First  marriage  of  Anna  Mason  —  Her  husband  how  slain  near 
Johnson  Hall  —  Stoner's  marriage  —  Is  deputy  sheriff—  The 
Stoner  brothers  again  in  the  army  —  British  invasion  of  New 
York — Battle  of  Beekmantown — Anecdote  of  Maj.  Wool  — 
Battle  of  lake  Champlain  and  death  of  Commodore  Downie  — 
Gen.  Macomb  fires  a  national  salute  —  Burial  of  his  remains 

—  Mourners  at  his  grave  —  Celebration  at  Plattsburg  in  1842 

—  Stoner  again  leaves  the  army  -        »        *        -        86 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Maj.  Stoner  becomes  a  hunter  —  Hunter's  law  —  How  accoutred 
for  the  forest  —  Intemperance  an  attendant  on  war  —  De  Fon- 
claiere  keeps  a  tavern  in  Johnstown  —  How  his  horses  ran 
away  — Indian  hunters  at  his  house  —  Stoner  obtains  an  ear- 
jewel  —  An  Indian  boasts  of  killing  his  father  —  Is  branded 
with  a  fire-dog  —  The  Indians  leave  the  place  —  Stoner  in  jail 

—  How  liberated  —  His  celebrity  in  Canada         -        -      111 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Stoner's  bear-trap  —  Precaution  in  its  use — Bait  for  beaver  — 
Season  for  hunting — Accident  to  Capt.  Jackson — Dunn  in 
Jackson's  place  —  Hunters'  lodges  how  constructed  —  Their 
larder  how  supplied  —  Johnstown  hunters  meet  Indian  trap 
pers  —  Fierce  quarrel  at  Trout  lake  —  An  Indian  falls  up- 


12  CONTENTS. 

on  the  shore  —  Dunn  transfixed  to  a  canoe  —  Stoner  in  the 
enemy's  camp  —  Trophies  he  there  obtained  —  Hunters  return 
home  —  Stoner  and  Mason  hunt  together  —  Mason  discovers 
bear's  tracks  —  Stoner  seeks  an  interview  with  Bruin  —  Dis 
covers  him  on  a  log  over  the  Sacondaga  —  A  rifle  is  heard  and 
the  bear  falls  into  the  river 123 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Stoner  annoyed  by  a  bear  in  his  wheat  and  corn-fields  —  How  he 
loses  one  leg  of  his  pantaloons  and  kills  the  bear  —  A  deer 
hunt  —  Hunters  swamped  at  Stoner's  island  —  Have  a  gloomy 
night  —  Frederick's  gratitude  toward  Stoner  for  saving  his  life 

—  Stoner  and  Mason  on  a  long  hunt  — Food  how  cooked  —  A 
peep  at  a  hunter's  camp — Out  of  provisions  the  hunters  seek 
a  settlement  —  Stoner  almost  shoots  another  blanketed  bear  — 
Mason  arrested  in  Norway  as  a  spy  —  Is  liberated  —  Hunters 
return  to  the  woods  —  They  meet  two  Indians  —  Stoner  mis- 
tAken  for  the  hunter  White  —  A  quarrel  —  An  Indian's  death- 
yell  —  His  comrade  takes  leg-bail  —  Johnstown  hunters  return 
home  with  three  guns  —  Stoner  suspected  of  smuggling  mer 
chandise  —  Anecdote  of  Green  White  -  134 

CHAPTER  X. 

Hunter's  Moccasons  how  made  —  Stoner  hunts  with  Griswold  — 
A  dog  eats  a  moccason  for  Griswold  —  The  loss  how  repaired 

—  Stoner  hunts  with  Capt.  Shew  at  the  Sacondaga  Vlaie  and 
there  shoots  a  wolf  —  Stoner  and  Foster  on  a  hunt  trap  an 
eagle  —  Different  trappers  with  whom  Stoner  is  associated  — 
With  an  Indian  partner  visits  the  head  of  Grass  river  —  There 
met  a  white  hunter  with  a  squaw — Stoner  makes  a  map  for 
him  to  go  to  Johnstown  —  Hunts  with  the  Indian  Gill  —  Lat 
ter  spears  the  beaver  —  Stoner  hunts  with  Obadiah  Wilkins 
who  encounters  an  Indian  —  Magic  of  Stoner's  nalne  —  Stoner's 
last  difficulty  with  Indian  hunters  —  How  he  loses  a  trap  and 


CONTENTS.  13 

fur  —  How  he  gets  his  trap  and  pay  for  the  fur  —  The  Sabbath 
how  regarded  by  hunters  —  Admonition  of  a  young  Indian  — 
Stoner's  dog  in  trouble  —  Spirit  of  Mary  Stoner  -  -  146 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Major  Stoner  a  widower  —  His  voluntary  marriage — Again  a 
widower  —  His  last  marriage  —  His  present  residence  —  Ga- 
roga  and  Fonda  plank  road  —  Chase's  Patent  —  Foolish  ex 
pression  of  Capt.  Chase  —  Stoner  a  pilot  for  surveyors  — 
Signification  of  Piseco  —  Goes  to  a  settlement  for  food  —  Has 
a  warm  job  of  it  —  Law  students  in  the  forest  —  Ice  discover 
ed —  Fourth  of  July  how  celebrated  —  Stoner  skins  a  hedge 
hog —  Description  of  the  country  —  Prospective  view  of  it  — 
Newspaper  notice  of  Lake  Byrn  —  Sundry  other  lakes  — 
Lake  Good-luck,  why  so  called  —  Water  privileges  of  Hamil 
ton  county  —  Description  of  the  country,  by  Dr.  Emmons  — 
Stoner  and  others  discover  a  dead  man  near  Jesup's  river  — 
Importance  of  preserving  Indian  names  ...  160 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Birth  place  and  marriage  of  Nathaniel  Foster  —  Settles  in  Salis 
bury  —  Description  of  his  person  —  His  success  the  first  year 
in  hunting  —  Large  game  killed  by  him  —  Anecdotes  of  his 
wolf  killing  —  Supplies  museums  with  moose  skins  —  Is  near 
being  shot  —  His  rifles  —  A.  tussle  with  a  deer  —  A  wolf  for 
a  pet  —  Where  Foster  learned  to  write  —  Brown's  tract  of 
land  —  Source  of  Mill  stream  —  Brown  attempts  to  settle 
his  lands  —  His  death  —  Herreshoff  goes  there — His  birth 
place  and  person  —  Clears  up  land  —  Builds  a  forge  —  Ex 
pends  large  sums  of  money  —  Becomes  discouraged  and  com 
mits  suicide  —  Time  of  his  death  —  Inquest  —  Place  of  bu 
rial —  Inscription  to  his  memory — Cost  of  his  iron  —  His 
taxes  —  Brown's  tract  when  and  by  whom  surveyed  —  Its 
townships  —  Survey  of  roads  — Moose  lake  —  Indian  clear- 


14  CONTENTS, 

ing  —  Distance  from  Boonville  to  forge  —  Huckleberry  lake— * 
Surveyor  kills  a  hedge-hog  —  Anecdotes  of  Herreshoff       175 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Benchley's  description  of  Brown's  tract  —  Usual  route  to  it  — 
Use  of  drays  —  Size  and  power  of  Moose  river  —  Present 
condition  of  early  improvements  on  the  tract  —  Its  ore  — 
Effect  of  erecting  a  dam  —  Lakes  how  numbered  —  First 
lake  —  Dog  Island  —  Second  lake  —  Foster's  Observatory  — 
Third  lake  —  Grass  island  —  Fourth  lake  —  Line  between 
Hamilton  and  Herkimer  counties  —  Extent  of  tract  —  Re 
spect  for  the  Eagle  —  Description  of  the  Indian  Foster  kill 
ed  —  Effect  of  liquor  —  Foster's  vision  —  Five  echoes  —  North 
Branch  lakes  and  outlet  —  Fifth  and  Sixth  lakes  —  Carrying 
place  —  Foster  at  sixty  —  Prospective  use  of  a  lock  —  Seventh 
lake — Beautiful  view  —  Character  of  Green  White  —  His 
tragic  fate  —  His  success  in  hunting  —  The  hunter  Williams 
—  Place  for  trout  —  Pitch  pine  grove  —  How  Foster  shoots  a 
deer  —  Why  he  would  kill  a  doe  —  Eighth  lake  —  Racket 
inlet  —  Grave  of  Foster's  victim  —  Floating  for  deer  —  Jer- 
seyfield  lake  —  Jock's  lake  —  Little  Salmon  and  Black  River 
South  lakes  —  Physical  outline  of  this  region  of  country,  by 
Lardner  Vanuxem  .......  191 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Brown's  tract  tenantlcss  —  Is  a  resort  for  hunter's  —  Premises 
leased  —  Lease  assigned  to  Foster  who  moves  there  —  Indian 
Peter  Waters  or  Drid  —  A  debt  —  Drid  threatens  Foster's 
life  —  Goes  to  his  door  to  shoot  him  —  An  interview  —  Indian 
attempts  his  life  —  Foster  before  a  peace  officer  —  Apprehen 
sions  of  Foster's  family  —  Last  interview  between  Foster 
and  his  foe  —  Their  threats  of  vengeance  —  Foster  on  Indian's 
point  —  Drid's  approach  —  His  death  —  Foster  aids  in  getting 
his  body  home  —  Foster  is  arrested  —  Note  explaining  cut  208 


CONTENTS.  15 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Foster  is  arraigned  before  Judge  Denio  —  Is  tried  and  acquitted 
How  he  receives  the  verdict,  and  leaves  the  court  room  —  His 
acquittal  how  received  by  the  public  —  Anecdote  of  Joseph 
Brant 218 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Foster's  answer  to  Gen.  Gray  —  Stoner's  opinion  of  Foster's 
and  his  own  skill  as  marksmen  —  How  Drid's  friends  received 
his  death  —  Advice  to  Foster's  family  —  Drid's  wife  returns 
to  the  St.  Lawrence  —  Foster  removes  to  Pennsylvania  — 
Returns  to  Boonville  and  dies  there  —  The  Indian  Hess  —  Im 
portance  of  a  country  tavern  —  How  Foster  and  Hess  meet 
and  part  —  Running  fight  with  a  moose  bull  —  Sudden  ap 
pearance  of  Hess  —  He  threatens  to  kill  Foster  —  Falls  from 
a  log  over  his  own  grave  —  Mysterious  sayings  —  How  he 
shot  eighteen  otters — His  eye-sight  improved  by  venison  — 
Signification  of  Oswegatchie  —  How  Foster  carried  bullets  — 
Anecdote  of  his  rapid  firing  —  How  he  made  his  camp  in  the 
woods  —  How  he  accoutred  for  the  chase  ...  241 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Incidents  in  the  life  of  Jock  Wright  —  His  birth,  habits  and  ap 
pearance  —  Is  a  soldier  —  Captures  British  officers  —  How  he 
parts  with  one  of  them  —  He  scalps  a  British '  ally  —  Visits 
his  former  prisoner  in  Boston  —  Again  a  hunter  —  The  rattle 
snake  hunter  —  A  snake  fight  —  Death  of  a  panther  —  Wright 
removes  to  Norway— His  family — How  he  lost  arid  found 
his  jug  —  The  hunter  Nicholas  —  His  stock  in  trade  —  A  rea 
son  wanted  for  his  habits  —  He  hunts  with  Wright — Finds 
lead  ore  —  His  death  —  Jock's  lake  —  Crookneck  the  hunter 
—  How  he  almost  caught  a  deer,  and  got  caught  himself — 
How  Uncle  Jock  kills  two  moose  —  His  opinion  of  a  certain 


16  CONTENTS. 

prayer — Gets  sick  and  prays  himself — Crookneck  on  snow 
shoes  —  Beaver's  meat  —  Uncle  Jock  draws  a  pension  —  When 
he  made  huts  —  His  death 253 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Some  account  of  the  beaver  —  Peculiarity  of  its  flesh  —  Its  food 
4  —  Bait  used  for  its  capture  —  Its  social  habits  —  Its  dams  and 
dwellings  how  constructed  —  A  beaver  community  how  fore 
warned  of  danger  —  Habits  of  the  otter  —  Its  food  —  Form 
of  its  feet  —  Its  sagacity  in  preparing  its  burrow — The 
musk-rat  —  Not  easily  exterminated  —  Its  fate  in  freshets  — 
Habits  of  the  pine  marten  —  Its  size  —  The  wolverine  —  How 
it  annoys  hunters— Its  great  strenth  ...  272 


TEAPPBRS  OF  NEW  YORK. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Incidents  of  greater  or  less  interest  occur  in  the  lives 
of  almost  every  member  of  the  human  family,  which 
only  need  be  known  to  be  justly  appreciated,  or  subserve 
some  good  and  wise  purpose ;  but  occasionally  an  indi 
vidual  crosses  the  broad  landscape  of  life,  whose  career 
may  be  said  to  consist  of  a  bundle  of  incidents — the 
greater  part  of  whose  existence  is  in  fact  so  full  of 
novelty,  as  to  claim,  for  at  least  a  portion  of  it,  a  record 
for  the  benefit  or  amusement  of  mankind.  Of  the  latter 
class  is  Major  Nicholas  Stoner,  some  of  the  most  ro 
mantic  and  daring  of  whose  adventures  are  presented 
in  the  following  pages. 

To  say  that  a  man  lived  through  the  American  Revo 
lution  and  participated  in  its  perils,  is  alone  a  sufficient 
guaranty  that  he  can,  if  at  all  intelligent,  recount 
unique  and  thrilling  scenes  as  yet  untold  in  history;  but 
when  we  meet  with  one  who  has  not  only  been  exposed 
to  the  perils  of  an  eight  year's  war,  but  has  shared  in  the 
dangers  and  hardships  of  a  second  war — one,  in  truth, 

whose  life  has  been  checkered  with  a  thousand  hazard- 

2* 


18  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

ous  exposures  between  and  subsequent  to  those  wars; 
we  may  expect,  almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  learn 
from  him  not  a  little  that  will  prove  acceptable  to  the 
general  reader,  nourishing 

"  The  seeds  of  happiness,  and  powers  erf  thought." 

The  facts  here  given  of  this  celebrated  warrior,  were 
noted  down  by  the  writer  from  his  own  lips  at  personal 
interviews;  not  a  few  of  which  have  been  corroborated 
by  the  testimony  of  others.  It  is  the  fortune  of  very 
few  individuals  to  pass  through  a  long  life  surrounded 
by  such  a  variety  of  perils,  without  receiving  more 
personal  injury. 

Henry  Stoner,  the  father  of  Nicholas,  emigrated  from 
Germany  to  the  American  colonies,  as  is  believed, 
nearly  twenty  years  before  their  emancipation  from 
British  tyranny.  He  landed  at  New  York,  and  after  a 
short  residence  in  that  city  removed  to  the  colony  of 
Maryland,  where  he  married  Catharine  Barnes,  by 
whom  he  had  two  sons,  Nicholas  and  John. 

Nicholas  Stoner,  who  was  about  a  year  the  senior  of 
his  brother,  was  born  Dec.  15,  1762  or '63:  which  year 
is  not  now  known  with  certainty,  the  family  record 
having  been  burned  with  his  father's  dwelling  in  the 
Revolution.  He  is  five  feet  eleven  inches  high,  of 
slender  but  sinewy  form ;  and  though  his  light  brown 
hair  is  now  (1848)  silvered  by  the  frosts  of  fourscore 
winters,  and  his  body  is  a  little  bent,  yet  his  step  is  still 
firm  without  a  cane,  and  his  intellect  vigorous.  He  has 
from  boyhood  worn  a  pair  of  small  rings  in  his  ears. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORE.  19 

His  complexion,  owing  to  his  mode  of  life,  is  now 
swarthy.  In  his  younger  days  he  must  have  been  a  man 
of  uncommonly  prepossessing  personal  appearance;  for 
his  acquaintances  of  forty  years'  standing,  speak  of  him 
"  as  one  of  the  likeliest  looking  men  they  have  ever 
known."  His  walk — indeed,  almost  every  motion — 
betrays  his  forest  life,  for  he  moves  with  the  caution 
of  a  trapper  and  the  stillness  of  a  panther:  added  to 
which  he  becomes  impatient  and  vexed  at  restraint. 

The  frontispiece,  which  gives  a  good  likeness  of  him 
at  the  age  of  about  eighty  three,  exhibits  him  accoutred 
as  a  trapper.  He  usually  wore  a  fur  cap  when  hunting, 
and  a  short  coat,  or  cloth  roundabout.  A  belt  encircled 
his  waist,  at  the  foot  of  which  was  fastened  a  bullet 
pouch,  and  beneath  which  upon  the  left  side  were  thrust 
a  hatchet  and  knife ;  while  under  his  right  arm  swung 
a  powder  horn  of  no  mean  capacity.  When  trapping 
for  beaver,  he  was  often  loaded  with  a  bundle  of  double- 
spring  steel  traps;  which  were  suspended  beneath  the 
left  arm.  The  frontispiece  was  engraved  from  two 
daguerreotype  likenesses,  one  of  which  was  taken  in  the 
village  of  Johnstowm,  on  the  10th  of  Sept.,  1846 ;  and 
as  there  was  a  militia  general  training  in  the  village 
on  that  day,  the  old  hero  was  not  only  accoutred  with 
little  trouble  to  visit  the  artist;  but  was  greeted  at 
every  turn  by  numerous  friends  and  acquaintances,  all 
eager  once  more  to  grasp  his  hand  and  give  him  a 
friendly  salutation.  The  other  miniature,  although  it 
does  not  exhibit  the  old  trapper  in  his  forest  garb,  was 


20  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

taken  subsequently  at  his  place  of  residence,  and  is  by 
far  the  best  likeness.  A  borrowed  cap  seen  in  the  pic 
ture,  conceals  much  of  his  intelligent  brow. 

New  York  city  again  became  the  residence  of  Henry 
Stoner  while  his  children  were  quite  young,  during 
which  Nicholas  went  to  school  and  learned  to  read. 
He  was  sent  to  school  by  John  Binkus  (if  I  have  the 
orthography  correct),  a  man  of  wealth,  who  had  married 
Miss  Hannah  Stoner,  a  sister  of  the  young  student's 
father.  During  the  Revolution,  this  Binkus  became  a 
refugee  officer  in  the  famous  corps  of  Gen.  De  Lancey. 
Henry  Stoner,  who  had  been  a  kind  of  trafficker  or 
speculator  in  a  small  way  since  his  arrival  in  the  colo 
nies,  after  a  second  residence  in  New  York  of  a  few 
years,  resolved  to  become  a  pioneer  settler,  and  removed 
with  his  family  to  Fonda's  Bush,  a  place  in  the  Johns 
town  settlements,  so  called  after  Maj.  Jelles  Fonda,  who 
took  a  patent  for  the  lands.  The  place  is  situated  about 
ten  miles  north  of  east  from  the  village  of  Johnstown, 
and  the  same  distance  west  of  north  from  Amsterdam. 

Fonda's  Bush  signifies  the  same  as  if  it  were  called 
Fonda's  Woods,  a  dense  forest  covering  the  soil  at  that 
early  period — bush  being  the  usual  term  for  woods  on 
the  frontiers  of  New  York.  Indeed,  the  Sugar  Bush 
is  the  present  appellation  given  to  woods  from  which 
maple  sugar  is  made.  At  the  time  of  Stoner's  arrival, 
Johnstown,  though  but  a  small  village,  was  becoming 
known  abroad;  as  it  was  the  residence  of  the  Baronet, 
Sir  William  Johnson  (after  whom  it  was  called),  who, 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  21 

as  Indian  agent  for  the  Six  Nations,  and  as  a  military 
man  of  repute,  was  notorious  in  what  was  then  Western 
New  York. 

As  Stoner  was  the  first  settler  at  Fonda's  Bush,  he 
left  his  family  in  Philadelphia  Bush,  while  he  was 
erecting  a  log  dwelling  four  miles  distant.  The  last 
mentioned  place,  now  in  the  town  of  Mayfield,  obtained 
its  name  from  the  fact,  that  one  or  more  of  its  first 
inhabitants  were  from  Philadelphia,  or  the  vicinity  of 
that  city.  Some  two  years  after  Stoner  fixed  his  resi 
dence  in  the  wilderness,  Joseph  Scott,  and  about  the 
same  time  Benjamin  De  Line,  also  located  in  his  neigh 
borhood.  I  say  neighborhood  because  they  were  the 
nearest  neighbors  of  the  Stoner  family;  although  from 
one  to  two  miles  distant.  His  residence  was  still  on 
the  wild-wood  side  of  his  pioneer  brethren.  The  next 
man  who  fixed  his  residence  in  the  vicinity  of  Stoner, 
was  Philip  Helmer,  who  drove  the  wild  beasts  from 
their  haunts  and  broke  ground  two  miles  to  the  east 
ward  of  him.  Andrew  Bowman,  Herman  Salisbury, 
John  Putman,  Charles  Cady,  and  possibly  one  or  two 
others,  also  settled  in  and  about  Fonda's  Bush  before 
the  Revolution.  Cady,  who  married  a  daughter  of 
Philip  Helmer,  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  at  the  West 
village.  He  is  believed  to  have  gone  to  Canada  with 
Sir  John  Johnson. 

It  must  have  been  about  the  time  of  Stoner's  location 
in  Fonda's  Bush,  that  Godfrey  Shew,  a  German,  made 
the  first  permanent  location  near  Sir  William  Johnson's 


22  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

fishing  lodge,  denominated  the  Fish  House;  and  situated 
on  the  Sacondaga  river,  eight  miles  north-east  of 
Stoner's  dwelling.  Before  Shew  planted  himself  at 
the  Fish  House,  several  families  of  squatters  had  been 
there,  who  had  gone  "  to  parts  unknown,"  and  desirous 
of  getting  a  wholesome  citizen  to  remain  there,  the 
Baronet  held  out  liberal  inducements  to  Mr.  Shew,  of 
which  he  accepted. 

In  my  History  of  Schoharie  County,  etc.,  I  have 
given  some  account  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  with 
several  anecdotes  of  him — described  his  stately  man 
sions,  and  told  the  manner  of  his  death  &c.,  &c.:  but 
at  the  time  of  publishing  that  work,  I  was  not  aware 
that  he  had  a  more  celebrated  summer  residence  in  the 
latter  part  of  his  life,  than  that  denominated  the  Fish 
House.  From  conversations  held  within  the  past  year 
(1849)  with  the  aged  patriot  Jacob  Shew,  who  is  a  son 
of  Godfrey  Shew  named  above,  I  am  enabled  to  garner 
up  some  more  incidents  in  the  life  of  this  nobleman, 
and  authentic  memoranda  of  the  classic  grounds  under 
consideration,  which  can  not  fail  to  prove  interesting  to 
future  generations,  even  though  they  are  little  appre 
ciated  by  the  present. 

Sir  William  Johnson,  after  establishing  himself  at 
his  Hall,  in  Johnstown,  no  doubt  lived  in  greater  afflu 
ence,  or  more  in  the  style  of  a  European  nobleman 
of  that  day,  than  ever  did  any  other  citizen  of  New 
York.  His  household  was  quite  numerous  at  all  times, 
and  not  unfrequently  was  much  increased  by  distin- 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  23 

guished  guests.  He  had  a  Secretary  named  Lafferty, 
who  was  a  good  lawyer  and  did  all  his  legal  business. 
He  .had  a  Bouw-master,  an  Irishman  named  Flood. 
Bouw  is  a  German  word  signifying  harvest — or  as  here 
used,  an  overseer  or  manager  of  the  laboring  interest  of 
the  Hall  farm.  From  ten  to  fiften  slaves  usually  per 
formed  the  labor  on  the  farm,  and  they  were  under  the 
imme  diate  direction  of  the  bouw-master.  The  slaves, 
some  of  whom  had  families,  lived  across  the  Cayadutta 
creekfrom  the  Hall,  in  small  dwellings  erected  for  them. 
They  drest  much  as  did  their  Indian  neighbors,  except 
that  a  kind  of  coat  was  made  of  their  blankets  by  the 
Hall  tailor. 

He  had  a  family  Physician  named  Daly,  who  prac 
ticed  but  little  out  of  his  own  household.  Doct.  Daly 
was  a  very  companionable  man,  and  often  accompanied 
Sir  William  in  his  pleasure  excursions.  He  had  a 
Musician ,  a  dwarf  some  thirty  years  old,  who  answered 
to  the  name  of  Billy.  He  played  a  violin  well,  and 
was  always  on  hand  to  entertain  guests.  He  had  a 
Gardener,  who  cultivated  a  large  garden,  and  kept  that 
and  the  grounds  about  the  Hall  as  neat  as  a  pin.  He 
had  a  Butler  named  Frank,  an  active  young  German, 
who  was  with  him  a  number  of  years,  and  who  made 
himself  very  useful  to  his  master.  Frank  remained 
about  the  Hall  until  the  Revolution  began,  wrhen  he 
went  to  Albany  county.  He  had  a  Waiter  named 
Pontioch,  a  sprightly,  well  disposed  lad  of  mixed  blood, 
negro  and  Indian,  who  was  generally  with  him  when 


24  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

from  home.  He  had  a  pair  of  white,  dwarfish-looking 
Waiters,  who  catered  to  his  own  and  his  guests'  comfort: 
their  surname  was  Bartholomew,  and  they  are  believed 
to  have  been  brothers. 

The  secretary,  physician,  bouw-master,  and  all  the 
waiters  remained,  after  the  death  of  Sir  William,  with 
his  son,  Sir  John  Johnson,  until  the  Revolution  began, 
and  then  followed  his  fortunes  to  Canada.  The  Baronet 
had  also  his  own  mechanics.  His  Blacksmith,  and  his 
Tailor,  had  each  a  shop  just  across  the  road  from  the 
Hall.  They  did  very  little  work  for  any  one  out  of 
the  royal  household.  Sir  William  was  a  large,  well- 
looking  and  full-favored  man.  "  Laugh  and  grow  fat," 
is  an  old  maxim,  of  which  his  neighbors  were  reminded, 
when  they  beheld  this  fun-loving  man.  He  was  well 
read  for  the  times,  and  uncommonly  well  versed  in  the 
study  of  human  nature.  Near  the  Hall  he  erected  two 
detached  wings  of  stone,  the  west  one  of  which  was 
used  by  his  attorney  Lafferty,  for  an  office,  and  the  other 
contained  a  philosophical  apparatus,  of  which  he  died 
possessed.  The  room  in  which  the  apparatus  was  kept, 
was  called  his  own  private  study.  On  seeing  him  enter 
it,  Pontioch  used  to  say — "  Now  massa  gone  into  his 
study  to  tink  ob  somesin  me  know  not  what" 

Sir  William  erected  a  school- house  in  Johnstown 
soon  after  he  located  there.  It  was  an  oblong  building 
with  a  desk  at  one  end,  and  stood  on  the  diagonal  corner 
of  the  streets  from  the  county  clerk's  office — on  the 
present  site  of  Lucius  I.  Smith's  store.  To  begin  a 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  25 

village,  he  also  erected  at  the  same  time  six  dwelling- 
houses  in  the  vicinity  of  the  school-house.  They  were 
each  some  30  feet  long  fronting  the  street,  by  18  or  20 
feet  deep — were  one  and  a  half  stories  high,  with  two 
square  rooms  on  the  floor.  Those  dwellings,  and  the 
school-house  were  all  painted  yellow.  One  of  the 
earliest  if  not  in  fact  the  first  teacher  of  this  school, 
was  an  arbitrary  Irishman  named  Wall,  who  taught 
only  the  common  English  branches.  An  Episcopal 
church  was  also  erected  in  Johnstown  under  the  patron 
age  of  Sir  William,  several  years  before  his  death. 

In  the  street  in  front  of  the  school-house,  public 
stocks  and  a  whipping-post  were  placed,  the  former  of 
which  were  a  terror  to  truant  boys,  whose  feet  not  unfre- 
quently  graced  them.  Before  Godfrey  Shew,  removed 
to  the  Fish  House,  he  resided  a  mile  west  of  the  Hall, 
at  which  time  his  children,  with  those  of  a  neighbor  or 
two,  went  to  school.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  Hall  were 
usually  to  be  seen  a  dozen  or  more  Indians,  of  whom 
the  children  were  afraid;  and  the  fact  coming  to  the 
knowledge  of  Sir  William,  he  spoke  to  a  chief  in  their 
behalf,  and  then  assured  the  little  urchins,  with  whom 
he  liked  to  chat,  that  they  need  borrow  no  more  trouble 
about  their  red  neighbors. 

He  had  six  children  at  that  time  by  his  handsome 
brown  housekeeper,  Molly  Brant;  and  the  three  oldest, 
Peter,  Betsey  and  Lana,  went  to  school — George  and 
two  little  girls  being  thought  too  young  to  send. 
W'all  was  very  severe  with  most  of  his  pupils,  but  the 

3 


S6  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Baronet's  children  were  made  an  exception  to  his 
clemency — they  being  ever  treated  with  kind  partiality 
and  pointed  indulgence.  He  observed  the  most  rigid 
formality  in  teaching  his  scholars  manners;  a  very 
important  branch  of  education,  and  quite  too  much 
neglected  in  modern  times.  He  required  his  pupils, 
however,  not  so  much  to  respect  age  and  intellect  in 
others  as  in  himself.  If  a  child  wished  to  go  out,  it 
must  go  before  him  with  a  complaisant — please  master 
may  I  go  out?  accompanied  with  a  bow,  a  backward 
motion  of  the  right  hand,  and  drawing  back  upon  the 
floor  the  right  foot.  On  returning  to  the  school-room, 
the  pupil  had  again  to  parade  before  the  master,  with 
another  three-motioned  bow,  and  a  very  grateful — 
thank  you  sir  I 

The  lad  Jacob  Shew,  on  becoming  initiated  into  the 
out-and-in  ceremony,  accompanied  his  first  bow  with  a 
scrape  of  the  left  foot.  Tak  the  other  fut,  you  rascal ! 
was  roared  with  such  a  'brogue  and  emphasis  by  old 
Pedagogue,  as  to  confuse  him,  and  he  flourished  the 
left  foot  again.  Tak  the  other  fut,  I  tell  ye !  came 
louder  than  before,  attended  with  a  stamp  that  carried 
terror  to  the  boy's  heart.  Comprehending  the  require 
ment,  he  shifted  his  balance — scraped  with  the  right 
fut — heard  a  surly  that  '//  doh  !  and  went  on  his  way 
rejoicing  though  trembling. 

In  nearly  every  school  of  New  England  and  New 
York  twenty-five  years  ago,  the  scholars  on  entering 
and  on  leaving  the  school-room  during  the  hours  of 


TRAPPERS  OF 'NEW  YORK.  27 

school,  had  to  make  their  manners — the  boys  to  bow — 
gracefully  if  they  could,  but  at  all  events  to  bow,  and 
the  girls  to  courtesy,  genteelly  of  course.  Nor  were 
the  manners  of  the  children  confined  to  the  school 
room;  for  on  meeting  any  sober  person  in  the  street, 
they  had  to  make  their  obeisance,  and  learned  to  take 
pleasure  and  pride  in  so  doing.  It  was  then  a  very 
pretty  spectacle  to  pass  a  country  school-house  at 
noon,  or  when  the  children  were  out  at  play,  and  see 
them  parade  as  if  by  military  intuition,  and  give  the 
traveler  a  united  evidence  of  good  breeding.  This 
sight  is  occasionally  seen  at  the  present  day,  where 
female  teachers  are  employed. 

Traversing  the  forest  in  the  French  war,  from  Ti- 
conderoga  to  Fort  Johnson,  his  then  residence,  no 
doubt  first  made  Sir  William  Johnson  familiar  with 
the  make  of  the  country  adjoining  the  Sacondaga  river; 
and  soon  after  the  close  of  that  war  he  erected  a  lodge 
for  his  convenience,  while  hunting  and  fishing,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  nearly  eighteen  miles  distant 
from  his  own  dwelling.  The  lodge  was  ever  after 
called  The  Fish  House.  It  was  an  oblong  square 
framed  building,  with  two  rooms  below,  and  walls 
sufficiently  high  (one  and  a  half  stories)  to  have  af 
forded  pleasant  chambers.  Its  site  was  on  a  knoll 
within  the  present  garden  of  Dr.  Langdon  I.  Marvin, 
and  about  thirty  rods  from  the  river.  It  fronted  the 
south.  Only  one  room  in  the  building  was  ever  finished; 
that  was  in  the  west  end,  and  had  a  chimney  and 


28  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

fire-place.  The  house  was  never  painted,  and  in  the 
Revolution  it  was  burnt  down,  but  by  whom  or  whose 
authority,  is  unknown.  The  ground  from  where  the 
building  stood,  slopes  very  prettily  to  the  river.  No 
visible  trace  of  this  building  remains. 

A  village  has  grown  up  at  this  place,  containing 
several  hundred  inhabitants,  and  bearing  the  historic 
name  of  Fish  House,  although  the  post-office  is  im 
properly  called  Northampton,  the  village  lying  mostly 
in  one  corner  of  that  town.  The  village  is  built  upon 
gentle  elevations,  and  a  degree  of  neatness  and  thrift 
pervades  it,  that  agreeably  disappoints  the  visitor. 
Among  its  early  influential  inhabitants,  were  Asahel 
Parkes,  John  Trumbull,  John  Rosevelt,  Alexander  St 
John,  and  John  Fay.  The  last  one  named  located 
here  in  1803,  and  the  others  a  few  years  before. 

Where  the  Stoner  family  settled  in  Fonda's  Bush, 
a  pretty  village  has  also  sprung  up.  It  is  built  mostly 
upon  level  sandy  land,  and  contains  double  the  popu 
lation  of  Fish  House.  It  is  situated  in  the  town  of 
Broadalbin,  and  like  its  sister  village,  has  the  misfor 
tune  to  have  its  post-office  called  after  the  town  in 
stead  of  itself,  a  discrepancy  that  should  never  exist 
where  it  can  be  avoided.  A  plank  road  went  into 
operation  in  1849,  from  Fish  House  to  Fonda's  Bush, 
a  distance  of  eight  miles ;  and  another  from  the  latter 
place  to  Amsterdam,  a  further  distance  of  ten  miles, 
bringing  the  three  places  within  a  few  hours'  ride  of 
tach  other. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  29 

The  villages  of  Fish  House  and  Fonda's  Bush  must 
grow  in  importance  with  their  improved  facilities  for 
business — indeed,  the  travel  to  those  places  has  been 
on  the  increase  for  several  years.  From  Edinburgh, 
a  little  hamlet  in  Saratoga  county,  six  miles  down 
the  river  from  Fish  House,  a  stage  runs  twice  a  week 
to  Ballston  Spa,  stopping  at  Fish  House;  and  another 
runs  through  the  place  three  times  a  week,  from 
Northville  to  Amsterdam.  Both  are  mail  routes. 
Northville  deserves  a  passing  notice  in  this  place:  it 
is  a  charming  inland  village  in  the  town  of  Northamp 
ton,  containing  two  or  three  hundred  inhabitants, 
romantically  embowered  among  the  hills  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Sacondaga,  six  miles  above  the  Fish 
House,  and  is  fast  increasing  in  importance.  The  first 
settlers  at  this  place  were  Abraham  Van  Aernam,  Paul 
Hammond,  John  Shoecraft,  Daniel  Lobdell  and  Daniel 
Bryant.  It  is  now  in  contemplation  to  build  a  plank 
road  from  Northville,  to  connect  at  Johnstown  with  the 
one  from  that  place  to  Fultonville,  on  the  Erie  canal. 

At  a  little  place  about  equidistant  between  Fish 
House  and  Northville,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river, 
with  a  post-office  called  Denton's  Corners,  settled 
Garret  Van  Ness,  Abel  Scribner  and  John  Brown. 
They  located  there  soon  after  the  war  of  the  Revolu 
tion  closed;  and  as  they  had  all  three  been  participa 
tors  in  its  perils,  they  must  often  have  met  of  a  long 
winter  evening  and  fought  their  battles  over.  There 
is,  at  this  place,  a  bridge  across  the  Sacondaga* 


CHAPTER  U. 

Sir  William  Johnson  was  no  doubt  induced  to  locate 
in  Johnstown,  partly  on  account  of  the  greater  facili 
ties  it  would  afford  him  lor  hunting  and  fishing  about 
the  Sacondaga  river,  over  a  residence  in  the  Mohawk 
valley,  and  partly  to  obtain  more  favorable  grounds 
to  accommodate  the  numerous  Indians,  who  at  times 
came  to  receive  presents  from  the  royal  bounty.  North 
of  the  Hall  was  a  forest,  in  which  those  visitors  were 
occasionally  encamped  in  great  numbers. 

The  Sacondaga  and  Mohawk  rivers  are  about  twenty 
miles  apart,  from  Fish  House  westward,  for  some  dis 
tance.  The  Mayfield  mountain  stretches  across  from 
the  former  river  south-easterly  to  the  latter,  and  there 
forms  what  is  called  The  Nose,  while  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Sacondaga,  mountain  ranges  of  hills  tower 
ing  one  above  the  other,  bound  the  view.  The  lands, 
on  gaining  the  summit  level,  a  few  miles  north  of  the 
Mohawk,  are  not  mountainous  between  the  rivers, 
but  gently  rolling  from  the  Mayfield  mountain,  some 
twenty  miles  to  the  eastward,  until  they  strike  what 
is  denominated  the  Maxon  hill ;  the  northern  termina 
tion  of  which  at  the  river  the  Indians  called  Scow-a- 
rock-a.  The  scenery,  therefore,  to  the  northward  of 
Johnstown  and  Fonda's  Bush,  is  very  fine. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  31 

v2.#/j*A'Y 

From  the  residence  of  Col.  John  I.  Sliev\>  situated 
on  an  eminence  one  and  a  half  miles  from  Fonda's 
Bush,  and  on  the  plank  road  to  Fish  House,  is  afforded 
the  lover  of  natural  science,  in  a  clear  day,  one  of  the 
richest  landscapes  in  this  part  of  the  state.  Here  the 
eye,  looking  north,  seems  to  scan  rather  more  than 
one-half  of  an  amphitheatre,  an  hundred  miles  in  cir 
cuit,  with  rich  and  varied  scenery.  Within  the  view 
is  overlooked  the  Sacondaga  vlaie,  a  body  of  from 
ten  to  thirteen  thousand  acres  of  drowned  lands.  This 
immense  marsh  extends  east  and  west  about  six  miles. 
A  strip  at  the  west  end,  nearly  two  miles  long,  lies 
in  Mayfield,  and  the  eastern  part  extends  into  North 
ampton;  but  the  greatest  proportion  is  in  Broadalbin, 
where  it  is  the  widest,  being  perhaps  a  mile  or  more 
in  width. 

A  fine  mill  stream,  called  Vlaie  creek,  because  it 
courses  through  the  great  marsh,  rises  in  Lake  Desola 
tion,  near  the  Maxon  mountain  in  Greenfield,  Sara 
toga  county,  and  making  a  grand  circuit  qf  Broadal 
bin,  passing  in  its  route  through  the  village  of  Fonda's 
Bush,  it  enters  the  Sacondaga  at  Fish  House,  not 
more  than  two  or  three  miles  from  its  source ;  although 
some  twenty  by  its  sinuous  route.  The  stream  is  some 
times  called  the  Little  Sacondaga.  The  Indians  called 
it  Ken-ny-ett-o,  says  Isaac  R.  Rosa,  of  Fonda's  Bush. 
who  saw  an  intelligent  Indian,  many  years  ago,  write 
the  name  with  red  chalk  on  the  door  of  a  grist  mill 
The  signification  of  this  pretty  aboriginal  name,  after 


32  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

which  the  village  and  post-office  should  have  been 
called,  is  now  unknown. 

The  origin  of  this  marsh  is  thus  given  by  Lardner 
Vanuxem,  in  his  volume  of  the  Geology  of  New  York. 
"  The  vlie,  or  natural  meadow  and  swamp  which  ex 
tends  along  the  creek  of  that  name,  to  near  the  Fish 
House,  are  the  remains  of  a  lake,  and  show  the  pre- 
existent  state  of  that  country;  the  drainage  of  which 
happened  at  successive  periods,  as  is  beautifully  shown, 
and  the  extent  of  alluvial  action  also,  near  where  the 
upper  and  lower  roads  unite,  which  lead  from  Cran 
berry  post-office  to  the  river,  near  the  hill  or  mountain 
side.  There  four  well  defined  alluvial  banks  exist, 
resembling  great  steps  or  benches  ranging  by  the  moun 
tain  side,  which  form  a  semi-amphitheatre,  changing 
by  a  curve  from  a  north-east  to  a  south-south-east 
direction.  The  upper  bank  of  alluvion  rises  about  a 
hundred  feet  above  the  river;  the  next  below,  about 
eighty  feet;  the  third,  from  thirty  to  forty  feet;  and 
the  lowest,  from  ten  to  twelve  feet.  The  upper  one 
is  of  sand,  the  second  of  blueish  clay  covered  with 
sand,  and  the  two  lower  ones  of  sand  and  gravel. 

"  The  vlie,  or  natural  meadows,  are  numerous  in 
many  parts  of  the  [geological]  district:  they  are  the 
prairies  of  the  west  upon  a  small  scale.  Their  soil, 
being  composed  of  minutely  divided  parts  or  fine  earth, 
is  favorable  for  grass,  the  rapid  growth  of  which 
smothers  the  germinating  tree.  This  is  the  primary 
cause  why  trees  do  not  exist  where  grass  is  rank;  the 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  33 

others  are  but  subordinate  ones.  One  and  all  in  the 
district  show  the  same  origin,  having  been  ponds  or 
lakes  receiving  the  wash  of  the  country  which  they 
drained,  the  finer  particles  of  which  being  diffused 
through  their  waters,  have  by  subsidence  formed  their 
level  bottom,  and  their  highly  productive  soil  for 
grass." 

It  is  by  no  means  an  uncommon  occurrence  for  a 
pond  or  lake  to  become  filled  up  by  alluvial  deposits, 
so  as  to  form  dry  and  tillable  land;  and  at  times  upon 
the  surface  of  a  body  of  water,  a  soil  is  formed  that  is 
cultivated  without  its  ever  being  known  to  the  hus 
bandman,  that  he  is  toiling  over  the  bosom  of  a  lake. 
In  confirmation  of  this  I  would  instance  a  singular 
occurrence  of  recent  date.  On  the  Michigan  Central 
Railway  it  became  necessary  to  carry  an  embankment 
some  fifteen  feet  thick  across  a  piece  of  low  ground, 
containing  nearly  one  hundred  acres  dry  enough  to 
plow.  The  workmen  had  progressed  with  the  grading 
some  distance,  when  it  became  too  heavy  for  the  soil 
to  support  it,  and  sunk  down  into  seventy-nine  feet 
of  water.  It  then  became  apparent  that  the  low 
ground  had  been  a  small  lake,  upon  the  surface  of 
which,  in  process  of  time,  a  soil  had  collected,  com 
posed  of  roots,  peat,  muck,  &C..,  to  the  depth  of  from 
ten  to  fifteen  feet  thick;  the  surface  of  which  had 
become  dry.  Had  it  not  been  deemed  necessary  to 
carry  so  heavy  an  embankment  over  this  miniature 
prairie  of  now  rich  arable  land,  it  would  probably 


34  TKAPPEKS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

never  have  been  known  that  it  rested  on  the  bosom 
of  a  lake. 

On  the  northerly  side  of  the  vlaie  and  to  the  west 
ward  of  the  centre,  are  two  strips  of  hard  land  bearing 
timber.  They  are  called  stacking-ridges,  from  the 
fact  that  many  tons  of  hay  cut  annually  on  the  low 
grounds  contiguous,  are  stacked  upon  them  to  be 
drawn  off  in  the  winter.  Blue-joint  grass  used  to 
grow,  and  perhaps  does  to  this  day  on  the  dryest  bogs.  . 
Formerly,  immense  quantities  of  cranberries  were 
gathered  on  the  north  side  of  the  marsh  east  of  the 
lower  stacking-ridge;  on  what  is  called  Cranberry 
point.  A  kind  of  shovel  with  fine  teeth  was  some 
times  used  to  scoop  them  up,  and  nearly  a  quart  could 
thus  be  gathered  at  once.  This  mode  of  picking  in 
jured  the  vines  however.  Cranberries  are  not  as 
plenty  here  as  formerly.  Opposite  Cranberry  point 
the  water  in  Vlaie  creek  is  said  to  be  very  deep. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  about  the  vlaie 
is  the  fact,  that  a  little  knoll  or  table  of  hard  land 
elevated  some  ten  or  twelve  feet,  extends  into  it 
toward  the  upper  or  western  end.  It  is  oblong  in 
shape,  level  upon  the  top,  and  gently  sloping  all  round. 
It  lies  about  north-west  and  south-east;  the  summit 
being  some  600  feet  long  by  150  in  breadth;  and  con 
taining  in  the  whole  say  ten  or  fifteen  acres  of  very 
good  land.  This  tongue  of  land  is  called  Summer- 
house  point,  from  the  fact  that  Sir  Wm.  Johnson 
erected  a  beautiful  cottage  in  the  centre  of  it  in  1772, 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  '  35 

and  there  spent  much  of  his  time  in  the  summer  for 
several  seasons.  From  Johnstown  to  this  point,  which 
is  just  fourteen  miles,  the  Baronet  opened  a  carriage 
road.  While  the  road  was  surveying,  a  large  tree 
was  marked  at  the  end  of  every  mile,  and  numbered 
from  the  Hall.  The  one  denominated  Nine-mile  tree, 
a  large  pine,  was  standing  within  twenty-five  years, 
and  was  by  the  late  Gen.  Henry  Fonda  designated  to 
several  persons,  who  have  kept  vigilance  of  its  locality. 
The  stump  of  this  tree  which  has  for  seventy  years 
been  a  landmark,  is  still  standing  a  little  east  of  James 
Lasher's  dwelling,  in  the  town  of  Mayfield. 

Summer-house  point  is  approached  from  the  west 
erly  end,  upon  a  strip  of  arable  land,  which  in  very 
high  water  is  covered  making  an  island  of  the  point. 
The  Sacondaga  patent  embraced  all  or  very  nearly  all 
of  the  vlaie.  The  point  which  lies  in  Broadalbin, 
was  embraced  in  the  Sacondaga  patent,  which  con 
veyed  28,000  acres  of  land,  Dec.  2,  1742,  to  Lender! 
Gansevoort,  Cornelius  Ten  Brook,  Dow  Fonda,  Anna 
J.  Wendell  and  ten  others.  Of  some  of  the  original 
patentees  or  then  owners,  Sir  William  not  only  bought 
the  point,  but  many  of  the  lands  in  and  contiguous  to 
Fish  House,  in  which  village  the  Northampton  and 
Sacondaga  patents  unite. 

The  cottage  erected  on  Summer-house  point,  stood 
precisely  in  its  centre.  It  was  a  tasty  one  story  build 
ing,  fronting  the  south,  upon  which  side  was  its  front 
entrance.  The  roof  sloped  north  and  south.  A  piazza 


36  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

supported  by  square  columns  extended  around  the  sides 
arid  east  end,  with  a  promenade  upon  the  top  nearly 
as  high  as  the  eaves.  It  had  a  gable  window  at  each 
end  on  the  first  floor,  and  two  windows  at  each  end 
on  the  second.  A  hall  ran  across  the  building  in  the 
centre,  with  a  square  room  upon  each  side  of  it,  hand 
somely  finished,  well  furnished,  and  each  room  lighted 
by  two  front  windows.  It  had  a  nice  cellar  kitchen, 
the  entrance  to  which  was  on  the  west  end,  which 
room  was  always  occupied  in  the  summer  season  by 
Nicholas  and  Flora,  a  pair  of  the  Baronet's  slaves, 
who  were  there  to  keep  every  thing  in  order,  and  mi 
nister  to  his  comfort  during  his  visits.  The  cottage 
was  painted  white,  with  the  corners,  doors,  window- 
casings  and  columns  painted  green,  as  was  the  English 
taste  of  the  times — the  whole  contrasting  beautifully 
with  the  wild  scenery  around. 

A  large  garden  was  cultivated  on  the  point,  two 
cows  kept  there,  and  when  the  Baronet  was  there  two 
horses  also;  as  he  usually  rode  there  in  a  carriage. 
He  planted  fruit  trees  there,  and  two  antiquated  apple 
trees  of  a  dozen  or  more  are  still  standing.  The  stone 
of  which  the  cellar  and  well  were  made,  were  brought 
from  Fish  House  in  a  boat,  and  as  stone  were  scarce 
on  the  sandy  lands  contiguous,  early  settlers  with 
sacrilegious  propensity  have  carried  off  and  converted 
them  to  other  uses.  The  plow  has  removed  all  traces 
of  the  well,  which  was  on  the  verge  of  the  knoll  south 
of  the  house,  and  has  nearly  filled  the  cellar,  a  small 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  37 

cavity  only  remaining.  A  log  house  and  well  were 
built  on  the  south  side  of  the  point  toward  the  west 
ern  end  just  after  the  revolution,  but  the  dwelling  is 
now  gone,  and  most  of  the  stone  which  were  used  in 
that  cellar.  The  nearest  house  now  to  the  point,  is 
that  known  as  the  Brown  place,  where  Samuel  Brown, 
an  old  pensioner,  lived  and  died. 

I  have  said  that  the  Kennyetto  coursed  through  the 
vlaie.  It  enters  a  narrow  strip  of  it  south-west  of  the 
point,  and  runs  along  the  latter  upon  its  southerly 
side;  where  it  is  some  two  rods  wide,  and  usually 
three  or  four  feet  deep.  The  Mayfield  creek,  a  mill- 
stream  about  two-thirds  as  large  as  the  Kennyetto, 
runs  through  that  part  of  the  marsh  in  Mayfield,  and 
sweeping  its  north  margin,  unites  with  the  latter 
stream  at  the  extremity  of  the  point.  The  Brown  farm 
lies  between  the  two  strips  of  the  marsh  named,  and 
near  where  they  approximate.  Besides  those  named, 
several  other  streams  enter  the  marsh.  On  the  north 
side  at  Cranberry  point,  a  mile  from  Summer-house 
point,  Cranberry  creek  runs  in,  and  nearly  loses  itself 
before  reaching  Vlaie  creek,  as  the  stream  is  called  after 
it  receives  Mayfield  creek.  On  the  south  side  two  mill 
streams  run  in,  in  Broadalbin,  one  nearly  opposite 
Cranberry  creek;  called  formerly  Frenchman's  creek, 
and  the  other  a  mile  below  called  Hans's  creek;  and 
yet  so  great  is  the  natural  process  of  absorption  and 
evaporation  constantly  going  on  here,  that  the  creek, 
where  it  issues  from  the  vlaie  and  enters  the  Sacon- 

4 


38  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

daga  at  Fish  House,  discharges  but  little  if  any  more 
water  than  passes  Summer-house  point,  in  the  Ken 
ny  etto:  indeed,  it  is  said  by  some  of  the  observing 
citizens  near  its  mouth,  that  less  water  issues  from  the 
marsh  than  did  formerly. 

Frenchman's  creek  is  so  called,  because  a  French 
man  named  Joseph  DeGolier  located  at  an  early  day 
upon  its  shores  about  two  miles  from  its  mouth.  It 
has  since  been  called  McMartin's  creek,  after  Duncan 
McMartin  Esq.,  who  established  himself  and  erected 
mills  upon  it  many  years  ago.  McMartin  was  a  sur 
veyor  and  laid  out  most  of  the  roads  in  and  around 
Broadalbin.  He  was  a  man  of  wealth  and  respect 
ability,  and  was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  common 
pleas  in  1818 — was  a  master  in  chancery,  &c.  &c.; 
and  as  an  evidence  of  his  enterprise,  erected  a  sub 
stantial  brick  edifice  upon  his  farm,  some  few  years 
before  his  death.  This  same  stream  has  also  been 
called  Factory  creek,  from  the  fact  that  a  woolen 
manufactory  was  established  upon  it  near  the  residence 
of  Mr.  McMartin,  as  early  as  1812  or  1814.  It  is  still 
in  operation.  Hans's  creek  got  its  name  from  the 
following  circumstance:  Some  few  years  before  his 
death,  Sir  William  Johnson  and  John  Conyne  were 
fishing  for  trout  in  the  mouth  of  this  stream,  when 
as  Conyne  was  standing  up,  an  unexpected  lurch  of  the 
boat  sent  him  out  floundering  in  the  water.  He  ship 
ped  a  sea  or  two,  as  the  sailor  would  say,  before  he 
was  rescued  by  the  helping  hand  of  his  companion 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  39 

from  a  watery  grave.  My  informant  heard  the  Ba 
ronet  relate  the  circumstance  at  Johnson  Hall  to  a 
large  circle  of  friends  soon  after,  with  his  usual  gusto 
for  such  adventures.  He  not  only  had  a  hearty  laugh 
over  it  then,  but  often  afterwards  when  telling  how 
Conyne  plunged  into  the  water  to  seek  for  trout.  Hans 
being  the  Dutch  of  John,  and  the  familiar  name  by 
which  Sir  William  called  his  companion  in  relating 
the  incident;  hence  the  name  for  the  stream. 

There  is  now  along  the  sides  and  lower  end  of 
Summer-house  point,  a  stunted  growth  of  alder  and 
swamp  willow,  but  when  occupied  by  Sir  Willian 
Johnson,  the  bushes  were  all  cut  off,  and  the  margin 
of  the  stream  kept  clean.  He  had  a  beautiful  boat 
there,  in  which  he  used  to  go  down  to  the  Fish  House, 
four  miles  distant,  sometimes  with  company,  for  he 
entertained  numerous  distinguished  guests,  and  at  other 
times  attended  only  by  a  few  servants,  or  possibly  by 
his  faithful  Pontioch,  who  rowed  the  boat  while  he 
sat  in  the  stern  and  steered  it.  His  greatest  time  for 
hunting  and  fishing,  was  in  the  spring  and  fall.  When 
the  marsh  was  flooded,  a  boat  wTould  pass  over  it  any 
where,  the  wrater  raising  at  Summer-house  point, 
from  six  to  eight  feet  above  low  water  mark.  At 
such  times  the  prospect  was  grand  from  the  promenade 
of  his  cottage,  access  to  which  was  gained  by  an  out 
side  stairway,  near  the  hall  door.  Thousands  upon 
thousands  of  ducks  and  wild  geese  were  then  floating 


40  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW   YORK. 

upon  the  waters,  at  which  time  his  double-barreled 
gun  was  in  almost  constant  requisition.  Some  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  ducks  used  to  breed  about  the  vlaie. 
They  are  sometimes  caught  in  nets  there,  and  taken 
to  market. 

In  company  with  Dr.  William  Chambers,  Marcellus 
Weston,  Esq.,  my  patriotic  old  friend  Jacob  Shew, 
Col.  John  I.  Shew  his  son,  and  little  Haydn  Shew,  I 
visited  Summer-house  point  on  the  ;29th  day  of  Au 
gust,  1849,  and  well  was  I  compensated  for  the  jour 
ney.  It  is  a  most  delightful  place,  divested  of  all 
historic  associations,  but  clothed  with  them,  it  is  one 
of  the  most  interesting  spots  imaginable.  Recreating 
in  fancy  the  white  cottage  with  green  facings,  I  could 
almost  hear  the  notes  of  Billy's  old  fiddle,  as  his 
greatest  skill  was  taxed  to  please  the  ear  of  some  fas 
tidious  city  guest;  and  at  some  witticism  of  the  happy 
host,  I  seemed  to  hear  peal  after  peal  of  merry  laughter, 
and  now  and  then  an  Indian  whoop,  as  in  former 
days,  they  rang  out  upon  the  gentle  breeze.  The 
fairy  craft  of  some  forest  son  seemed  once  more  to  be 
gliding  along  the  grass-hidden  stream,  with  its  blanket- 
clad  navigator  standing  erect  as  of  yore,  and  bound 
for  Sacondaga.  Imagination  pictured  Pontioch  caress 
ing  his  favorite  steeds,  and  calling  on  Nicholas  to 
aid  a  black  driver  in  rubbing  them  dry;  and  as  I 
passed  the  entrance  to  Flora's  department,  to  look  at 
the  noble  animals,  I  seemed  to  see  upon  one  side  of  it 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  41 

scores  of  pigeons  and  wild  ducks,  with  the  saddle  of 
a  deer;  and  on  the  other  a  large  heap  of  golden  trout, 
to  supply  the  cottage  larder  and  feed  its  guests. 

But  I  find  I  am  growing  visionary,  and  will  dismiss 
this  subject,  with  my  grateful  thanks  to  the  gentlemen 
who  conducted  me  to  Summer-house  point,  where  I 
trust  I  may  again  light  up  "  the  council  fires  "  of  ima 
gination — again  be  surrounded  by  intelligent  friends — 
again  see  some  little  Haydn  hooking  perch  or  sun- 
fish — again  see  the  happy  hay  makers  near  the  upper 
stacking-ridge — and  again  seek  for  some  relic  of  the 
point's  first  occupancy,  if  only  to  be  rewarded  by  the 
limb  of  an  old  apple  tree. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Sa-con-da-ga  is  an  aboriginal  word,  which  signifies, 
as  the  Indians  assured  Godfrey  Shew,  much  water. 
Capt.  Gill,  an  Indian  hunter,  said  it  meant  sunken  or 
drowned  lands.  It  no  doubt  has  particular  reference 
to  the  flooding  of  the  vlaie.  The  Sacondaga  shooting 
out  from  the  mountains  in  Northampton,  enters  the 
semi-amphitheatre  in  a  south-eastern  course,  and  con 
tinues  that  direction  in  what  seems  a  great  basin, 
until  it  gets  to  Fish  House,  where,  receiving  the  Vlaie 
creek,  and  striking  spurs  of  the  Maxon  mountain,  its 
course  is  changed  to  a  north-eastern  one,  thus  making 
two  equal  sides  of  a  triangle  some  twenty  miles  in 
circuit.  The  vlaie  is  about  as  low  as  the  bed  of  the 
river,  and  when  the  latter  rises  suddenly,  it  sets  back 
up  the  creek  with  a  heavy  current,  so  as  not  unfre- 
quently  to  carry  bridges  up  stream,  that  were  over  the 
streams  in  the  marsh.  The  Sacondaga  continues  a 
north-easterly  course,  until  it  enters  the  Hudson  some 
thirty  miles  from  Fish  House.  A  small  steam  boat 
has  been  plying  for  two  seasons  between  Fish  House 
and  Barber's  Dam,  a  distance  of  about  twenty  miles. 
This  dam  is  situated  at  the  head  of  what  is  usually 
denominated  the  Horse  race,  or  rapid  water,  which 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  43 

extends  from  thence  to  the  Hudson.  Conklinville,  a 
small  hamlet,  with  several  mills  and  a  leather  manu 
factory,  has  recently  grown  up  at  the  dam. 

Daly's  creek,  a  stream  running  into  the  Sacondaga 
on  the  east  side,  and  near  Barber's  dam,  got  its  name 
from  the  following  circumstance.  Dr.  Daly,  the  fa 
mily  physician  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  was  at  the 
mouth  of  this  stream  with  the  latter  on  a  fishing  ex 
cursion,  as  in  days  gone  by  it  was  a  great  place  for 
trout.  A  little  eddy  in  the  water  had  caught  up  a 
bed  of  leaves,  and  the  top  ones  were  so  curled  and 
dry,  as  to  lead  the  doctor  to  suppose  they  were  quietly 
reposing  on  the  top  of  a  small  sand  bar.  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  Sir  William,  to  please  himself  or  guests 
that  may  have  been  with  them,  humored  the  joke,  if 
he  did  not  set  it  on  foot.  Catching  the  painter,  the 
doctor  sprang  out  to  draw  the  boat  upon  the  bar — 
when  lo !  he  went  plump  up  to  his  arms  in  the  water. 
This  incident  not  only  added  a  yarn  to  the  Baronet's 
long  budget,  which  he  often  spun  at  the  doctor's  ex 
pense,  but  served  to  originate  a  name  for  the. stream. 
Some  few  years  after  the  above  incident  transpired, 
Godfrey  Shew,  his  sons  John  and  Jacob,  arid  Edmund 
Pangburn,  were  fishing  at  the  mouth  of  Daly's  creek, 
when  a  similar  little  eddy  of  crisped  leaves  attracted 
the  notice  of  young  Jacob,  and  to  get  the  wrinkles 
out  of  his  legs,  he  concluded  to  step  out  of  the  boat  on 
the  bar.  He  did  so,  and  down  went  the  leaves,  and 
still  deeper  down  the  boy  to  get  a  handsome  ducking, 


44  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

and  be  laughed  at  by  his  comrades  when  again  in  the 
boat.  Query :  Should  not  this  stream  be  called  Shew's 
creek,  some  part  of  the  time? 

Near  the  mouth  of  Hans's  creek,  and  about  half 
way  from  Summer-house  point  to  Fish  House,  dwelt 
before  the  Revolution  the  family  of  Henry  Wormwood. 
He  had  three  daughters  and  two  sons.  The  oldest 
daughter,  whose  name  is  now  forgotten,  married  and 
went  to  Schoharie;  the  other  two,  Susannah  and  Eli 
zabeth,  lived  at  home.  Susannah,  the  eldest  of  the 
two,  was  a  beautiful  girl,  of  middling  stature,  charm 
ingly  formed,  with  a  complexion  fair  as  a  water  lily — 
contrasting  with  which  she  had  a  melting  dark  eye 
and  raven  hair.  Elizabeth  much  resembled  her  sister, 
but  was  not  quite  as  fair.  An  Irishman  named  Robert 
or  Alexander  Dunbar,  a  good  looking  fellow,  paid  his 
addresses  to  Susannah,  and  soon  after  married  her. 
The  match  was  in  some  manner  brought  about  by  the 
Baronet — was  an  unhappy  one,  and  they  soon  after 
parted.  She  however  retained  as  her  stock  in  trade 
a  young  Dunbar.  What  became  of  Dunbar  is  un 
known. 

Sir  William  was  on  very  intimate  terms  with  both 
the  Wormwood  girls,  but  the  most  so  with  Susannah, 
after  she  became  a  grass-widow — at  which  time  she 
was  about  twenty  years  old.  Those  girls  were  often 
at  the  cottage  on  the  point,  and  not  unfrequently  at 
the  fish-house.  As  the  latter  place  was  not  fur 
nished,  when  Sir  William  went  down  there,  intending 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  45 

to  stay  over  night,  he  took  down  a  bed  from  the  point, 
which,  "  as  the  evening  shades  prevailed,"  was  made 
up  on  the  floor.  In  passing  Wormwood's  dwelling, 
some  half  a  mile  distant  from  his  boat  at  the  nearest 
point,  if  he  desired  an  agreeable  companion  for  the 
night,  he  discharged  his  double-barreled  gun,  and  the 
two  shots  in  quick  succession,  was  a  signal  that  never 
failed  to  bring  him  a  temporary  housekeeper.  Su 
sannah  was  his  favorite,  and  so  pleased  was  she  with 
his  attentions,  that  she  often  arrived  on  foot  at  the 
Fish  House  before  he  did,  especially  if  he  lingered  to 
fish  by  the  way. 

Wormwood  and  his  wife  sometimes  accompanied 
one  of  their  daughters  to  the  fish-house,  where  they 
occasionally  remained  over  night.  The  old  man  had 
the  misfortune  to  break  an  arm,  and  by  imprudence 
he  kept  it  lame  for  a  long  time.  Early  one  morning 
he  called  in  at  Shew's  dwelling,  situated  over  a  knoll 
and  perhaps  one-fourth  of  a  mile  from  the  fish-house. 
Rubbing  his  arm  he  began  to  give  a  sorry  picture  of 
its  lameness,  in  which  he  was  suddenly  interrupted 
by  Mrs.  Shew.  "  Poh !"  said  she,  "  you  have  made 
it  lame  by  sleeping  on  the  floor  again  at  the  fish- 
house." 

"  No  I  haven't,"  said  he;  "I  slept  on  a  good  bed; 
for  Sir  William  brought  down  from  the  point  a  very 
nice  wide  one,  which  was  plenty  large  enough  for 
four"— 

"  Four  ?"  quickly  interrogated  Mrs.  Shew,  greatly 


46  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

surprised  at  the  reply  of  Wormwood,  "  pray  how  did 
you  manage  to  sleep  four  in  a  bed  ?" 

"  O,  easy  enough.  Susannah  made  it  up  very  nicely 
on  the  floor,  and  then  Sir  William  told  us  how  to  lay. 
He  first  directed  the  women  to  get  in  the  middle,  and 
now,  said  he  to  me,  you  get  on  that  side  and  take 
care  of  your  old  woman  next  to  you,  and  I'll  get  in  on 
this  side  and  try  to  take  care  of  Susannah.  No,  I 
didn't  make  my  arm  lame  by  sleeping  on  the  floor  last 
night."  It  is  unnecessary  to  add,  Mrs.  S.  did  not 
question  her  neighbor  any  farther. 

To  dispose  of  this  family  in  a  few  words,  which 
catered  for  years  to  pamper  the  baser  passions  of  an 
influential  man,  liberally  endowed  with  Solomondic 
lust;  the  two  sons  went  to  Canada  with  Sir  John 
Johnson ;  Elizabeth  married  somebody  and  moved  to — 
somewhere;  and  Susannah,  with  an  heir  to  the  Sacon- 
daga  vlaie — sex  unknown — remained  about  Johns 
town  with  her  parents  until  the  Revolution  was  over, 
and  then  went  to  Canada.  Old  Wormwood  was  seen 
at  Amsterdam  after  the  war  by  a  former  neighbor, 
who  enquired  ivhere  he  lived  1  "  Any  where,"  he  re 
plied,  "  where  I  can  find  a  house."  Poor  weak  man, 
he  has  beyond  doubt  parted  writh  his  '  mortal  coil* 
long  since;  but  his  old  bones,  we  hazard  a  conjecture, 
more  than  once  felt  the  need  of  Sir  William's  '  wide 
bed,'  or  some  other,  before  that  solemn  event. 

About  the  fish-house,  Sir  William  Johnson  re 
served  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  which  was  confis- 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  47 

cated  with  his  son's  estate  in  the  Revolution.  When 
sold  by  the  sequestrating  committee,  it  was  purchased 
by  Major  Nicholas  Fish  (he  was  adjutant-general  of 
militia  after  the  war),  for  one  hundred  pounds.  Maj. 
Fish  sold  it  at  the  close  of  the  war  to  Asahel  Parkes, 
of  Shaftsbury,  Vermont,  who  resided  several  years 
upon  it.  He  built  a  dwelling  upon  the  low 'ground  a 
few  rods  from  the  mouth  of  Vlaie  creek;  and  the  fol 
lowing  spring  he  was  driven  out  of  it  by  some  four 
feet  of  water.  Traces  of  this  building  are  still  to  be 
seen  west  of  the  road,  just  above  the  river  bridge. 
Parkes  sold  the  Fish-house  farm  to  Alexander  St. 
John.  The  village  has  since  been  built  upon  it. 

The  bridge  just  alluded  to  crosses  the  river  where 
it  makes  its  great  angle,  and  only  a  few  rods  below 
the  mouth  of  Vlaie  creek.  The  Sacondaga  at  this 
place  is  about  two-thirds  as  large  as  the  Mohawk  is 
at  Fultonville.  The  cost  of  this  bridge,  a  covered 
one,  in  Barber  &  Howe's  Historical  Collections  of  New 
York,  is  erroneously  stated  to  have  been  '  sixty  thou 
sand  dollars.'  It  cost  about  six  thousand  dollars,  and 
was  built  by  the  state's  munificence  in  1818;  at  which 
time  Jacob  Shew  was  in  the  legislature  and  advocated 
the  measure  with  success.  It  was  supposed  the  state 
would  soon  realize  the  funds  again,  by  the  sale  of  her 
lands  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  a  market  for 
which  would  be  more  readily  found  by  improving  the 
way  to  them.  How  profitable  the  investment  has 
proved  for  the  state  we  are  unable  to  say,  but  the 


48  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

convenience  of  a  free  bridge  to  the  public  is  invalua 
ble. 

Among  the  unwise  measures  adopted  in  the  early 
part  of  our  struggle  for  liberty,  was  that  of  fortifying 
Summer-house  point;  it  being  supposed  by  some  that 
an  enemy  from  the  north,  would  be  likely  to  approach 
the  point  by  water.  Part  of  a  regiment  of  continental 
troops  under  Col.  Nicholson  was  stationed  here  much 
of  the  summer  of  1776.  An  intrenchment  six  feet 
wide  and  several  feet  deep  was  cut  across  the  eastern 
end  of  the  point;  while  the  cottage  in  green  livery, 
as  we  may  suppose,  assumed  a  warlike  aspect.  The 
point  as  a  military  post  was  abandoned  at  the  end  of 
the  summer.  The  summer-house  shared  the  same 
fate  as  the  fish-house,  in  the  Revolution ;  as  they  were 
both  burnt  about  the  year  1781.  We  suppose  that, 
from  the  fact  that  this  cottage  had  been  occupied  by 
the  Americans  as  a  military  post,  and  that  the  repos 
session  of  it  by  Sir  John  Johnson  was  now  placed 
almost  beyond  a  doubt  among  the  impossibilities;  he 
gave  instructions  to  some  hostile  invaders  to  burn  that 
and  the  fish-house,  that  they  should  fall  to  the  own 
ership  and  occupancy  of  no  one  else.  All  traces  of 
the  fortifications  on  the  point  have  disappeared,  the 
ditch  having  become  entirely  filled  up  by  deposits 
from  the  marsh. 

Just  before  Summer-house  point  was  garrisoned,  a 
scout  of  several  men  was  sent  from  Johnstown  to  re 
connoitre  in  its  vicinity.  From  the  point  thf;y  crossed 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  49 

the  marsh  to  the  bank  of  the  Sacondaga,  and  not  find 
ing  any  trace  of  an  enemy's  approach,  they  returned 
to  the  point.  When  ready  to  retrace  their  steps  to 
Johnstown,  they  found  the  boat  had  been  left  by  some 
person  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Kennyetto.  In 
attempting  to  cross  the  stream  and  get  it,  one  of  the 
men,  named  Willie  Boiles,  a  continental  soldier,  was 
drowned.  His  body  was  recovered  and  buried  on  the 
northerly  end  of  the  point,  a  few  rods  southerly  from 
the  fence  toward  the  road,  and  not  far  distant  from  the 
Mayfield  creek.  No  stone  or  stake  indicates  the  spot. 

Summer-house  point  was  sold  by  Jeremiah  Van 
Rensselaer,  one  of  the  committee  for  sequestrations, 
to  James  Caldwell  of  Albany.  Who  now  owns  this 
delightful  spot  I  am  unable  to  say.  Formerly,  when 
it  became  the  rallying  spot  for  hay -makers,  cranberry- 
pickers  and  fishermen,  temporary  bridges  were  made 
across  the  creeks  upon  its  sides,  by  throwing  over 
stringers  and  covering  them  with  brush  and  hay.  The 
timber  was  drawn  upon  the  point  in  the  winter,  to  be 
restored  in  the  summer. 

A  settlement  was  begun  in  Mayfield,  some  ten  miles 
to  the  northward  of  Johnson  Hall,  under  the  patronage 
of  Sir  William  Johnson,  about  as  early  as  Stoner's 
location  at  Fonda's  Bush.  The  first  settlers  who  ob 
tained  a  title  from  the  Baronet  to  one-  hundred  acres 
of  land  each,  were  two  brothers  named  Solomon  and 
Seely  Woodworth,  Truman  Christie,  two  brothers 
named  Reynolds, Dunham, Cadman, 


60  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Canfield,  Capt. Flock,  a  captain  when  in  New 

England;  and  possibly  one  or  two  others.  Christie 
was  a  Scotchman ;  the  rest  of  the  settlers,  or  nearly  all 
of  them  were  enterprising  Yankees.  The  Wood- 
worths  were  from  Salisbury,  Connecticut ;  Seely  set 
tled  near  the  present  site  of  Mayfield  Corners,  and  his 
brother  about  a  mile  to  the  westward  of  him.  The 
rest  of  the  pioneers  were  scattered  about  the  wood 
man's  neighborhood.  Perhaps  the  only  descendant  of 
this  early  settlement  now  living  upon  the  homestead, 
is  Simon,  a  son  of  Truman  Christie. 

Solomon  Woodworth  was  killed  by  the  Indians  in 
the  Revolution,  as  I  have  elsewhere  published.  The 
circumstances  attending  his  death,  as  related  by  an 
eye-witness,  I  design  to  give  the  public  at  some  future 
day,  as  also  the  captivity  of  several  of  the  settlers  at 
Fish  House  and  Fonda's  Bush,  and  fate  of  Eikler  and 
young  Shew.  Old  Mr.  Dunham  was  murdered  by  the 
Indians  in  the  war,  as  related  on  page  294  of  my  His 
tory  of  Schoharie  County,  etc.,  where  the  name  is  in 
accurately  printed  Durham.  His  wife  was  not  mur 
dered  at  the  time,  as  there  stated.  The  house  way 
plundered,  but  from  motives  of  policy  not  then  burned. 
Dunham  had  a  son,  a  young  officer  under  Capt.  Solo 
mon  Woodworth,  who  shared  the  fate  of  his  brave 
commander,  as  will  be  shown  hereafter. 

After  Shew  located  at  Fish  House,  and  before  the 
Revolution,  John  Eikler,  Lent  and  Nicholas  Lewis, 
brothers,  Robert  Martin,  Zebulon  Algar,  a  family  of 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  51 

Ketchums  and  one  of  Chadwicks,  also  settled  in  that 
neighborhood.  All  of  them  left  at  the  beginning  of 
difficulties,  except  Shew,  Martin  and  Algar.  These 
pioneers  at  first  had  to  go  to  Johnstown  for  their  mill 
ing.  To  accommodate  them  and  the  Mayfield  settle 
ment,  Sir  William  Johnson  erected  a  small  grist  mill 
at  the  latter  place,  in  1773  or  '74,  and  had  the  avails 
of  it  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  It  was  either 
burnt  in  the  war,  or  rendered  nearly  valueless  by 
neglect.  The  mill  property  having  been  confiscated, 
it  was  purchased  at  the  close  of  the  war  by  Abraham 
Romeyn,  the  oldest  son  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Romeyn,  who 
had  been  an  artificer  in  the  Revolution.  He  rebuilt 
the  mill  again,  and  put  it  in  operation. 

Soon  after  Romeyn  got  his  mill  in  operation, 
Thomas  Shankland — who  had  been  a  prisoner  among 
the  Indians — erected  a  grist  mill  on  the  Kennyetto, 
in  the  present  town  of  Providence,  to  which  the  Fish 
House  settlers  repaired,  as  it  was  a  mile  or  two  nearer 
than  the  Mayfield  mill,  with  no  intervening  marsh. 
This  mill  is  now  owned  by  Jonathan  Haggidorn.  The 
bolts  in  those  mills  to  separate  the  flour  from  the  bran, 
were  turned  by  hand.  It  was  the  usual  practice  for 
customers  to  turn  the  bolt  for  their  own  grist — a  task 
they  were  by  no  means  pleased  with.  After  the 
country  became  more  settled,  and  probably  as  early  as 
1800,  one  Van  Hoesen  erected  a  mill  also  in  Provi 
dence,  situated  about  half  a  mile  east  of  Fish  House, 
on  a  stream  which  rises  on  the  Maxon  mountain. 


52  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Speaking  of  mills,  we  are  reminded  of  the  follow 
ing  anecdote  of  Sir  William  Johnson.  While  he  was 
living  at  Fort  Johnson,  he  made  some  alteration  in 
his  grist-mill  near  by — putting  in  a  new  pair  of  mill 
stones.  A  German  named  Francis  Salts,  who  was 
erecting  a  mill  for  Messrs.  Philip  and  Jacob  Frederick, 
situated  on  the  Schoharie  river,  some  five  or  six  miles 
above  its  mouth,  called  on  the  Baronet  to  purchase 
the  old  grinders.  The  price  was  stipulated,  and  after 
some  little  conversation  about  the  terms  of  payment, 
the  quondam  owner  told  his  customer  to  take  them 
home,  get  his  mill  in  operation,  and  if  he  would  sing 
a  song  when  the  debt  was  due,  that  pleased  him,  he 
would  exact  no  other  pay. 

It  was  not  long  ere  the  buzzing  and  clitter  clatter 
evinced  the  new  mill  in  successful  motion.  WThen 
pay  day  for  the  millstones  arrived,  Mr.  Salts  went  to 
Fort  Johnson  to  cancel  the  debt.  He  was  quite  a 
song  singer,  and  had  possibly  prepared  himself  with 
something  new,  expressly  for  the  fastidious  ear  of  his 
creditor.  In  the  presence  of  several  of  the  Baronet's 
friends,  who  were,  no  doubt,  invited  in  expressly  to 
hear  them,  song  after  song  was  sung,  to  the  evident 
amusement  of  all  save  the  one  he  desired  to  please; 
but  his  features  remained  uncommonly  rigid.  Having 
exhausted  his  catalogue  of  German  songs,  without 
discovering  any  expression  of  delight  on  the  counte 
nance  of  his  creditor,  the  millwright  thrust  his  hands 
into  a  deep  pocket,  and  drew  forth  a  long  pouch  of 


TRAPPEKS  OF  NEW  YORK.  53 

the  ready,  singing  in  no  very  good  humor  as  he  did 

so: 

(^ebeiacf,  ®efo$acf,  bit  mu^t  fyeraug, 
2)er  Wlann  mil  be^atyt  gem,* 

"  That  will  do — now  put  up  your  money,"  said  Six 
William,  at  the  end  of  a  burst  of  laughter. 

"And  are  you  paid?  "  asked  Salts,  with  evident  sur 
prise,  as  he  returned  the  purse  to  his  pocket. 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  the  now  delighted  lover  of  funr 
"  that  will  do— that's  the  best  of  the  whole."  The 
songster  went  home  rejoicing,  and  left  the  Baronet 
and  his  guests  to  discuss  the  merit  of  his  songs  over 
a  bottle  of  wine,  when  he  was  far  away. — Col.  Peter 
Young  and  Volkert  Voorhees. 

If  Sir  William  Johnson  enjoyed  a  joke  at  the  ex 
pense  of  some  friend,  they  occasionally  got  the  rig 
upon  him,  as  the  following  anecdote  will  show.  Just 
after  the  close  of  the  French  war,  in  which  he  had 
acted  so  conspicuous  a  part,  and  for  which  he  was 
placed  on  the  baronial  list,  Sir  William  had  occasion 
to  go  to  Albany.  At  that  period  there  were  only  two 
or  three  dwellings  in  the  whole  distance  between 
Albany  and  Schenectada.  and  they  were  little  if  any 
better  than  squatter's  lodges  of  more  modern  times. 
There  were  numerous  little  swamps  and  marshes  along 
the  road,  and  the  Baronet  returning  to  Schenectada 
on  horseback,  passed  a  little  marsh,  in  which  he  heard, 

*  Money  bag!  money  bag!  you  must,  come  out!. 

The  man  he  will  be  paid  L 
5* 


54  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW    YORK. 

as  he  believed,  the  voice  of  a  new  animal.  Nearing 
a  house  just  after,  he  inquired,  What  animals  were 
making  such  a  strange  noise  ?  He  was  answered  with 
a  grin,  that  they  were  bullfrogs!  He  spurred  up  his 
horse,  not  a  little  mortified  to  think  he  had  but  just 
learned,  as  his  countrymen  would  say,  "  what  a  toad  a 
frog  was" 

The  family  of  which  he  inquired  knew  him  (indeed 
that  family  which  did  not  know  him  in  Western  New 
York,  was  behind  the  times),  and  soon  the  nature  of 
his  inquiry  reached  the  ears  of  his  most  intimate 
friends,  who  bored  him  so  unmercifully  about  it,  that 
he  was  obliged  to  own  up.  He  admitted  that  he 
never  was  so  ashamed  of  having  asked  a  question  in 
his  life,  as  he  was  of  that  about  the  new  animals  on 
the  pine  plains  below  Dorp. — James  Frazier. 

After  the  preceding  pages  were  stereotyped,  I 
learned  that  the  given  name  of  Dunham,  mentioned 
on  page  49,  was  Jacob:  that  when  he  was  murdered, 
as  stated  on  page  50,  which  took  place  April  11, 1779, 
a  son  named  Samuel  met  the  same  fate.  Zebulon, 
another  son,  was  made  prisoner,  but  escaped  from  his 
captors  while  they  were  plundering  and  burning  the 
house.  John,  a  third  son  of  Jacob  Dunham,  fell  with 
Capt.  Woodworth,  in  Fairfield. — Hon.  John  Dunham, 
of  Wells,  N.  Y.,  a  son  of  Ebenezer  Dunham,  and 
grandson  of  Jacob  Dunham,  above  named. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Very  little  is  known  of  Nicholas  Stoner's  boyhood, 
but  from  his  propensity  in  riper  years  we  may  suppose, 
that  if  he  did  not  play  off  some  wild  pranks,  it  was 
only  for  the  want  of  a  butt.  With  perceptions  na 
turally  quick,  his  city  life  afforded  him  a  fine  school 
for  the  study  of  human  nature  as  developed  in  the 
actions  of  men;  but  the  transition  at  so  early  an  age 
to  sylvan  shades,  where,  instead  of  artificial  objects 
he  might  behold  nature  by  the  pencil  of  God  adorned, 
was  genial  to  his  untamed  spirit,  and  he  was  soon 
fitted  to  enjoy  to  the  fullest  extent  the  life  of  a  wood 
man:  finding  music  in  the  scream  of  the  panther, 
growl  of  the  bear  and  bay  of  the  wolf. 

When  a  cry  from  the  Boston  Cradle  announced  that 
the  infant  Liberty  was  about  to  be  strangled  by  its 
pretended  nurse;  the  Gray  Forest  Eagle, 

u  An  emblem  of  freedbm,  stern,  haughty  and  high," 
having   plumed   his   broad  wing  for  a  heliocentric 
flight,  was  up — 

"  And  away  like  a  spirit  wreathed  in  light," 
he  fluttered  over  the  land  of  his  choice,  until  he  aroused 
the  patriotism  not  only  of  the  indweller  of  city  and 
village,  but  of  him,  who,  though  isolated  his  home, 
could  appreciate  untrammeled  thought  and  act. 


56  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

The  first  two  years  of  the  war  of  Independence,  the 
pioneer  inhabitants  of  New  York  enjoyed  comparative 
tranquillity;  for  the  swift-footed  Indian  had  not  fully 
determined  to  raise  the  hatchet  of  death  against  un 
offending  innocence,  in  a  quarrel  that  did  not  directly 
concern  him,  and  crimson  the  altar  of  domestic  hap 
piness  for  the  golden  calf  royalty  had  set  up:  but 
as  the  portending  storm  lowered,  and  it  became  known 
that  the  red  man,  having  sharpened  his  scalping  knife 
and  participated  in  the  war  dance  of  his  nation,  was 
then  on  his  way  to  the  frontiers ;  exposed  settlers  who 
were  inclined  to  look  with  favor  on  the  acts  of  those 
who  were  raising  an  arm  of  rebellion  along  the  sea 
board,  found  it  necessary  to  remove  to  thickly  peopled 
neighborhoods.  Accordingly,  the  families  making  up 
the  small  and  scattered  settlement  of  Fonda's  Bush, 
except  that  of  Helmer  and  Putman,  removed  early  in 
the  summer  of  1777,  to  Johnstown  :  soon  after  which 
Nicholas  Stoner  went  to  reside  with  the  Fisher  bro 
thers  in  the  i^ohawk  valley.*  Living  with  patriots, 

*  John  and  Harmanus  Fisher.  T^hey  resided  at  that  period 
where  the  Hon.  Jesse  D.  DeGroff  now  resides,  between  the  vil 
lages  of  Fonda  and  Amsterdam,  and  were  both  killed  and  scalped 
by  the  Indians  arid  tories  in  the  summer  of  1780;  at  which  time 
the  former  was  a  captain  and  the  latter  a  lieutenant  of  militia. 
Col.  Frederick  Fisher  (or  Visscher,  as  he  wrote  his  name  in  the 
latter  part  of  his  life),  a  third  brother,  chanced  to  be  there  at  the 
time,  and  was  scalped  and  left  for  dead,  but  recovered  and  lived 
many  years.  For  a  more  particular  account  of  the  Fisher  family 
and  their  sufferings,,  see  my  Border  Wars  of  Neiu  York. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  57 

although  a  lad  of  only  14  or  15  summers,  it  is  not  sur 
prising  that  young  Stoner,  who  had  been  properly 
schooled  at  home  as  the  removal  of  the  family  indicates, 
should  have  imbibed  the  spirit  which  throbbed  in  older 
hearts,  and  been  ready  to  stand  or  fall  with  the  com 
mon  cause  of  his  country. 

Visiting  his  friends  in  Johnstown  in  the  summer  of 
1777,  at  which  time  it  had  become  a  military  post, 
Nicholas,  for  whose  ear  martial  music  had  peculiar 
charms,  needed  but  little  persuasion  to  become  a  sol 
dier,  and  enlisted  as  a  fifer  into  a  company  of  New 
York  troops,  commanded  by  captain  Timothy  Hughes. 
Not  long  after  his  brother  John,  a  mere  boy,  enlisted 
under  Capt.  Wright.  Captain  W.  had  been  a  British 
drum-major  previous  to  the  Revolution,  and  being 
pleased  with  John,  undertook  to  perfect  him  in  the 
art  offlammadiddles  and  paddadiddles — in  other  words, 
in  the  ability  to  make  a  world  of  noise  in  a  scientific 
manner.  Henry  Stoner,  imitating  the  example  of  his 
boys,  soon  after  enlisted  under  Capt.  Robersham  for  a 
term  of  three  years.  The  father  and  sons  were  all  in 
the  same  regiment,  so  that  they  not  only  saw  each 
other  almost  daily,  but  the  former  could  to  some  little 
extent,  still  exercise  the  duties  of  a  parent.  The  re 
giment  alluded  to  was  commanded  by  Col.  James 
Livingston,  of  which  Richard  Livingston  was  lieuten 
ant-colonel,  and  Abraham  Livingston  captain;  the 
three  Livingstons  being  brothers.  In  August  1777, 
the  troops  under  Col.  Livingston  joined  the  army  of 


*_-^ 

£ 


58  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Gen.  Arnold,  while  on  its  way  up  the  Mohawk  valley, 
to  succor  Col.  Gansevoort  at  Fort  Stanwix.  Among 
the  patriotic  rangers  who  left  Johnstown  at  this  time 
was  Jacob  SheWj,  who  is  still  living. 

Nicholas  Stoner  saw  the  spy,  Han  Yost  Schuyler, 
who  was  captured  at  Shoemaker's  place  (where  Spen 
cer  now  lives,  at  the  upper  end  of  Mohawk  village), 
set  out  on  his  mission  to  excite  the  fears  of  the  enemy, 
and  thus  save  his  own  neck  from  a  halter.*  Boats 

*  This  Han  Yost   (John  Joseph)    Schuyler  and  Walter  Butler 
I  L       were  fortunately  made  prisoners  near  Fort  Dayton,   about  the 
time  of  Arnold's  arrival  at  that  post.     Butler  was  sent  down  to 
Albany  as  a  prisoner.     Schuyler  had  entered  the  Mohawk  valley 
!->w       as  a  spy — was  tried  by  court-martial  and  sentenced  to  be  hung,  his 
VA3       coffin  being  made  ready  to  receive  his  remains.     Gen.   Arnold 
thought  to  turn  his  life  to  more  profitable  account  than  his  death, 
and  agreed  to  spare  him  on  condition  that  he  would  enter  the  camp 
of  St.   Ledger,   and  by  an  exaggerated  account  of  the  forces  ad 
vancing  under  his  command,  thus  contribute  towards  raising  the 
siege   of  Fort    Stanwix,   then  called  Fort    Schuyler.      Schuyler 
accepted  the  terms  for  his  life;    and  his  brother  Nicholas  was 
retained  as  a  hostage,  to  suffer  in  his  stead  in  case  of  a  noncompli- 
ance.     Han  Yost  entered  the  enemy's  lines,  and  his  known  fidelity 
£f»'     to  their  cause  gave  his  representation  of  Arnold's  forces  no  little 

r  weight.  Probably  Schuyler  had  been  sent  below  to  learn  whether 
American  troops  were  approaching.  The  camp  was  thrown  into 
-  .  confusion,  and  it  was  resolved  to  raise  the  siege.  Several  shrewd 
Oneidas  friendly  to  the  American  cause  were  in  the  secret,  and  ere 
St.  Ledger  began  his  retrograde  movement,  one  of  them  dropped 
into  the  camp  as  if  by  chance.  He  was  interrogated  as  to  his 
knowledge  of  the  approaching  Yankees,  and  replied  mysteriously, 
but  in  a  manner  to  inspire  awe.  "  Are  the  Yankees  numerous?" 
inquired  a  tory  officer.  The  Indian  pointing  to  the  surrounding 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  59 

laden  with  provisions  were  taken  up  the  Mohawk, 
guarded  by  troops  along  the  shore.  As  they  drew 
near  the  theatre  of  the  brave  Herkimer's  disasters, 
evidences  of  the  terrible  onslaught  at  Oriskany  met 
them.  Near  the  mouth  of  the  Oriskany  creek,  a  gun 
was  found  standing  against  a  tree  with  a  pair  of  boots 
hanging  on  it;  while  in  the  creek  near,  in  a  state 
bordering  on  putrefaction,  lay  their  supposed  owner. 
In  the  grass  a  little  way  from  the  shore,  lay  a  genteely 
dressed  man  without  coat  or  hat,  who  it  was  supposed 
had  made  his  way  there  to  obtain  drink.  A  black 
silk  handkerchief  encircled  his  once,  aching  head. 
John  Clark,  a  sergeant,  loosened  it,  but  the  hair  ad- 
forest  replied  by  asking — "  Can  Oneida  count  the  leaves?  Can 
white  man  count  the  stars?"  The  siege  was  precipitately  aban 
doned,  and  agreeably  to  arrangement  another  and  another  Oneida 
entered  the  ranks  of  the  foe  to  add  their  enigmatic  testimony  to 
that  of  the  first.  The  stratagem  succeeded  to  a  charm-,  and  find 
ing  opportunity  to  return  to  the  army  of  Arnold,  and  thence  to 
Fort  Dayton,  Schuyler  saw  his  brother  set  free  and  went  back  to 
Canada.  Subsequent  to  the  war,  Schuyler  returned  to  Herkimer 
county  where  he  died.  Facts  from  John  Roof,  who  was  on  duty 
at  Fort  Dayton,  and  saw  the  coffin  made  for  Schuyler,  and  who 
was  familiar  with  the  circumstances  which  led  to  his  arrest  and 
novel  liberation;  corroborated  by  John  Dockstader,  of  Herkimer. 
Says  the  latter,  this  Schuyler  had  a  brother  and  two  sisters  who 
were  carried  captive  to  Canada  in  the  French  war,  and  were  re 
tained  there  until  it  closed.  Herkimer,  then  called  the  Palatine's 
village,  was  invaded  by  the  French  and  Indians  in  November, 
1757,  its  dwellings,  grain,  mills,  etc.,  destroyed  by  fire,  and  its 
inhabitants  mostly  slain  or  carried  into  captivity,  as  we  may  show 
at  some  future  day. 


60  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

hered  to  it  on  its  removal,  and  he  left  the  prize.  He 
took  from  his  feet  a  pair  of  silver  shoe-buckles.  His 
legs  were  so  swollen,  that  his  deer-skin  breeches  were 
rent  from  top  to  bottom.  Nine  dead  bodies  lay  across 
the  road,  disposed  in  regular  order,  as  was  imagined, 
by  the  Indians  after  their  death.  The  stench  was  so 
great  that  the  Americans  could  not  discharge  the  last 
debt  due  their  heroic  countrymen,  and  their  bones 
were  soon  after  bleaching  upon  the  ground.  A  little 
farther  on  an  Indian  was  seen  hanging  to  the  limb  of 
a  tree  by  the  heels.  He  was  suspended  with  the  traces 
of  a  harness  from  a  baggage  wagon  by  the  Americans, 
as  believed,  after  death.  Col.  St.  Ledger  having  made 
a  flying  retreat  towards  Canada,  Gen.  Arnold,  after 
giving  his  troops  time  to  rest,  left  Fort  Stanwix  and 
returned  with  his  command  to  the  army  of  Gen.  Gates 
near  Stillwater. 

At  some  period  subsequent  to  the  action  of  September 
19th,  in  which  Gen.  Arnold  was  by  many  thought  the 
master  spirit  of  the  American  officers  engaged,  an 
altercation  took  place  between  him  and  Gen.  Gates, 
supposed  by  some  on  account  of  envy  entertained  to 
wards  the  former,  either  by  Gen.  Wilkinson  or  Gen. 
Gates,  and  possibly  both,*  which  resulted  in  his  being 
deprived  of  his  command.  Consequently,  in  the  san 
guinary  battle  which  took  place  on  Bemis's  Heights, 
October  7th,  Gen.  Arnold  had  no  authority  for  the 
glorious  deeds  he  there  performed.  Towards  evening 

*  See  Neilson's  Burgoyne's  Campaign,  page  150. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  61 

of  that  day,  that  daring  chief  led  a  body  of  troops  into 
the  very  heart  of  the  Hessian  camp;  carrying  dismay 
along  the  whole  British  line.  In  this  impetuous  onset 
he  was  shot  through  the  leg,*  and  would  to  God  the 
ball  had  passed  through  his  heart;  and  that  that  fear 
less  and  reckless  leader,  who,  up  to  that  hour  had 
been  one  of  LIBERTY'S  boldest  champions,  could  have 
sealed  with  his  life-blood  his  former  deeds  of  glory! 
Yes,  would  to  God  that  that  brave  general,  who  had 
faced  his  country's  foes  on  the  snow-clad  plains  of 
Abraham,  and  been  a  companion  in  peril  of  the  gal 
lant,  warm-hearted  Montgomery,  could  now  have 
found  a  grave  on  those  heights,  where  his  own  blood 
had  mingled  with  that  of  the  foeman !  But  alas !  alas ! 
a  sombre  destiny  awaited  him. 

Among  the  death-daring  spirits  who  followed  Ar 
nold  to  the  Hessian  camp,  was  Nicholas  Stoner,  and 
near  the  enemy's  works  he  was  wounded  in  a  singular 
manner.  A  cannon  shot  from  the  breastwork  killed  a 
soldier  near  Stoner,  named  Tyrrell.  The  ball  de 
molished  his  head,  sending  its  fragments  into  the  face 
of  Stoner,  which  was  literally  covered  with  brains, 
hair  and  fragments  of  the  skull.  He  fell  senseless, 
with  the  right  of  his  head  about  the  ear  severely  cut 

*  A  wounded  Hessian  fired  on  Arnold,  and  John  Redman,  a  vo 
lunteer,  ran  up  to  bayonet  him,  but  was  prevented  by  his  general, 
who  exclaimed,  "  He's  a  fine  fellow — don't  hurt  him  /"  The 
Hessians  continued  to  fight  after  they  were  down,  because  they 
had  been  told  by  their  employers  that  the  Americans  would  give  no 
quarters. — Stoner. 

6 


62  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

by  portions  of  the  skull  bone,  which  injury  still  affects 
his  hearing  in  that  ear.  Shortly  after,  as  the  young 
fifer  was  missing,  one  Sweeney,  an  Irish  soldier,  was 
sent  to  seek  out  and  bear  him  from  the  field ;  but  a 
cannon  shot  whizzed  so  near  his  own  head,  that  he 
soon  returned  without  the  object  of  his  search.  Col. 
Livingston  asked  Sweeney  where  the  lad  Stoner  was? 
"  Ja — s!  colonel,"  replied  the  soldier,  "  a  goose  has 
laid  an  egg  there,  and  you  don't  catch  me  to  stay 
there !"  Lieut.  William  Wallace  then  proceeded  to  the 
spot  indicated  by  the  Irishman,  and  ^  found  our  hero 
with  his  head  reclining  upon  TyrrelPs  thigh,  and  taking 
him  in  his  arms,  bore  him  to  the  American  camp. 
WThen  young  Stoner  was  found,  a  portion  of  the  brim 
of  his  hat,  say  about  one-fourth  the  size  of  a  nine-pound 
shot,  was  observed  to  have  been  cut  off  very  smoothly, 
the  rest  of  it  was  covered  with  the  ruins  of  the  head 
of  Tyrrell,  who,  to  use  the  words  of  Stoner,  did  not 
know  what  hurt  him. 

Peter  Graff,  from  Switzer  Hill,  and  Peter  Conyne 
also  from  the  vicinity  of  Caughnawaga,  were  at  the 
American  camp  as  teamsters  on  the  day  of  this  bat 
tle,  and  served  as  volunteers  among  the  troops  led  on 
by  Arnold.  Conyne  having  raised  a  gun  to  fire  on 
the  enemy,  received  a  bullet  in  his  arm  and  breast. 
Young  Stoner  and  Conyne  were  taken  from  Stillwater 
to  Albany  in  a  boat  with  other  wounded  Americans. 
Col.  Frederick  Fisher  chanced  to  be  in  that  city  when 
they  arrived,  and  took  Stoner  home  with  him,  from 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  63 

whence  he  carried  him  to  Johnstown.  He  was  under 
the  care  of  Dr.  Thomas  Reed,  a  surgeon  in  Livingston's 
regiment,  and  was  cured.  Conyne  also  recovered. 

In  the  summer  of  1778,  the  three  Stoners  were  all 
on  duty  in  Rhode  Island.  In  an  engagement  with 
the  enemy  while  there,  the  father  was  wounded  by  a 
musket  ball,  which  lodged  in  his  head.  He  was  sent 
to  Providence,  where  he  was  trepanned,  and  recovered. 
A  piece  of  silver  placed  over  the  wound,  it  was  be 
lieved,  the  Indians  who  afterwards  killed  and  scalped 
him,  obtained  with  their  plunder.  The  relic  (an 
ounce  ball),  was  preserved  by  the  wounded  man,  but 
was  lost  when  his  dwelling  was  burnt  by  the  hirelings 
of  Britain. 

While  the  Stoners  were  serving  in  Rhode  Island, 
the  following  incident  occurred  in  the  American  camp. 
Two  soldiers,  Williams  a  Yankee,  and  Gumming  an 
Irishman,  had  a  quarrel,  in  which  the  former  gave  the 
latter  a  severe  flogging.  To  revenge  his  chagrin,  the 
worsted  combatant  took  a  shirt  from  his  own  knap 
sack,  and  placed  it  in  that  of  Williams,  to  give  it 
the  appearance  of  having  been  stolen,  in  the  hope  of 
seeing  the  latter  punished.  The  officers  found  it  ne 
cessary  to  use  severe  measures  for  petty  theft,  as  it 
was  of  very  frequent  occurrence.  The  missing  gar 
ment  of  Gumming  having  been  found  in  WTilliams's 
possession,  the  latter  was  tied  up  with  his  coat  off  to 
be  whipped.  The  son  of  Erin,  conscience  stricken, 
then  advanced  into  the  ring,  and  drew  off  his  coat  to 


64  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

take  the  lash.  He  said  he  had  received  one  licking 
from  Williams,  and  although  he  had  used  stratagem 
to  get  him  publicly  flogged,  he  would  rather  receive 
the  scorpion-tailed  cat  himself,  than  see  a  man  pun 
ished  for  a  crime  of  which  he-  was  not  guilty.  So 
manly  a  confession  on  the  part  of  Gumming,  excited 
the  admiration  of  the  Rev.  John  Greenough,  a  baptist 
minister,  and  chaplain  of  the  regiment,  who  interceded 
with  Col.  Livingston,  and  he  readily  forgave  them 
both. 

The  Americans  had  several  skirmishes  with  the 
enemy  in  Rhode  Island,  in  the  summer  and  autumn  of 
1778,  in  two  of  which  Nicholas  Stoner  was  engaged. 
Capt.  Hughes  t  was  out  one  night  with  his  command 
as  a  piquet  guard  on  Poppasquash  point,  opposite 
Bristol.  The  troops  having  been  observed  before  dark 
by  a  British  vessel  in  the  vicinity,  a  body  of  marines 
and  grenadiers  landed  and  made  them  prisoners.  The 
enemy  having  gained  the  beach  in  boats,  came  round 
a  salt  marsh  which  was  separated  from  a  corn  field  by 
a  stone  wall.  Capt.  Hughes  and  his  men  were  on  the 
marsh  side  of  the  wall,  and  fired  on  the  marines  as 
they  approached.  The  latter  called  to  them  not  to 
fire,  saying,  "  we  are  your  own  men."  As  they  drew 
near,  their  white  belts  betrayed  them  however,  and 
the  Americans  attempted  their  retreat.  In  endeavoring 
to  leap  the  wrall,  our  hero  missed  his  footing  and  fell 
back,  at  which  instant  he  was  seized  by  the  collar  by 
a  British  grenadier  named  John  McGaffee.  At  this 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  65 

instant  another  soldier  raised  his  musket  to  strike  him 
down,  but  was  prevented  by  McGaffee,  who  exclaimed, 
"  Vast,  shipmate,  it  is  only  a  child."  Daniel  Basin, 
a  Frenchman,  who  was  leaping  the  wall  near  Stoner, 
wras  bayoneted  and  killed.  Capt.  Hughes  and  all  his 
men  were  made  prisoners,  except  the  one  killed,  and 
two  who  were  missing,  supposed  to  have  scaled  the 
fence  and  escaped;  and  as  the  American  army  was 
near,  they  were  hurried  into  the  boats  and  taken  to 
Conanicut  island.  While  crossing  the  marsh  to  the 
boats,  the  young  fifer  thought  it  was  best  to  secure 
the  rum  in  his  canteen,  and  accordingly  took  a  long 
gurgling  swig,  which  was  broken  off  by  McGaffee, 
who  claimed  a  share,  as  being  his  by  the  fortune  of 
war,  and  he  gave  the  finishing  guzzle.  As  they 
neared  the  beach,  Stoner  threw  the  empty  casket  away. 
An  officer  hearing  it  strike  the  water,  raised  his  sword 
to  punish,  as  he  supposed,  an  act  of  treachery,  think 
ing  a  prisoner  had  cast  a  cartridge-box  from  him,  but 
McGaffee,  with  his  tongue  now  oiled,  again  inter 
posed,  and  observed  that  the  boy  had  only  thrown  away 
an  empty  and  valueless  canteen. 

At  daylight  the  prisoners  were  paraded  and  lodged 
in  the  enemy's  prison  on  the  island.  When  aroused 
by  the  morning  roll-call,  young  Stoner,  who  had  been 
wofully  drunk,  from  his  attempt  to  swallow  the  contents 
of  his  own  flask  the  evening  before,  and  whose  brain 
was  still  broiling  from  the  effects  of  the  potation,  started 

up,  supposing  at  first  he  was  required  to  play  the  re- 

6* 


66  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

veille  in  the  American  camp,  but  he  was  soon  brought 
to  his  senses,  and  to  a  situation  in  which  he  could 
get  sober  at  his  leisure;  in  other  words,  he  learned 
that  others  were  to  pipe  while  he  danced.  John  Stoner 
was  at  this  time  a  drummer  in  the  American  camp, 
not  far  distant  from  where  his  brother  was  a  prisoner; 
indeed,  the  spangled  banner  was  floating  in  sight.* 

Gen.  Prescott,  the  British  commander  on  that  sta 
tion,  was  captured  while  Capt.  Hughes  and  his  men 
were  prisoners.  He  had  gone  to  pay  his  devoirs  to  a 
buxom  widow,  at  a  little  distance  from  his  own  camp, 
and  a  slave  of  the  lady  found  means  to  communicate 
the  fact  to  the  Americans.  Lieut.-Col.  Barton,  of  the 
Providence  militia,  a«  officer  of  spirit,  at  once  con 
ceived  the  bold  project  of  his  capture.  At  dead  of 
night,  in  a  barge,  well  manned  by  stout-hearted  volun 
teers  with  muffled  oars,  he  landed  and  approached 
the  house  in  which  the  general  wras  so  happily  quar 
tered.  Feeling  quite  secure,  he  had  accepted  the  kind 
lady's  hospitality,  and  resolved  to  tarry  all  night. 
Possibly  his  arrest  was  set  on  foot  by  the  fair  hostess, 
for  woman  often  proved  the  champion  of  freedom. 

The  general  was  nabbed  in  a  bed-chamber;  and 
without  allowing  the  drowsy  hero  time  to  collect  his 

*  John  Stoner  was  drummer  in  Col.  Livingston's,  and  after 
wards  in  Col.  Cortlandt's  regiment,  serving  his  country  .to  the 
end  of  the  war.  He  was  in  one  engagement  in  Rhode  Island, 
and  probably  in  others.  In  battle,  the  musicians  were  usually  sta 
tioned  near  the  colors,  and  were  often  required,  as  a  part  of  their 
duty,  to  get  ammunition,  <no. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  67 

scattered  thoughts,  or  the  war-god  to  chase  the  dreams 
of  love  from  his  mind — or,  indeed,  what  was  far  more 
uncharitable,  time  to  put  on  his  breeches,  he  was 
hurried  off  to  the  rebel  barge.  Passing  through  a 
piece  of  standing  barley,  his  legs  were  tickled,  as  we 
may  suppose,  not  in  the  most  agreeable  manner.  So 
silently  had  the  Americans  arrived,  and  so  brief  had 
been  their  stay,  that  they  were  even  bending  their 
oars  for  their  own  camp  before  the  general's  guard 
could  be  mustered.  Great  was  the  surprise  among 
the  British  next  day,  when  it  became  known  that  their 
general  had  been  spirited  away.  On  being  apprised 
of  the  fact,  some  of  the  soldiers  were  heard  to  say, 
"  The  rebels  have  got  the  old  rascal,  and  I  hope  they'll 
kill  him! "  He  was  a  man  some  sixty  years  of  age, 
was  a  severe  disciplinarian,  and  not  very  popular. 
His  capture,  which  was  possibly  undertaken  with  that 
ostensible  object,  soon  brought  about  an  exchange  of 
prisoners;  and  after  several  months'  durance,  Captain 
Hughes  and  his  command  were  set  at  liberty. 

In  the  fall  of  1778,  the  several  regiments  of  New 
York  state  troops  having  become  much  reduced,  a 
new  organization  took  place,  their  number  being  les 
sened,  at  which  time  Nicholas  Stoner  joined  the  com 
pany  of  Capt.  Samuel  T.  Pell,  attached  to  Col.  Cort- 
landt's  regiment,  which  marched  to  Schenectada.  The 
state  troops  were  sent,  during  the  winter  months,  to 
different  frontier  stations,  and  Capt.  Pell  proceeded  to 
Johnstown  for  winter  quarters. 


68  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Small  parties  of  the  enemy  kept  the  inhabitants 
along  the  frontier  of  New  York,  in  a  state  of  almost 
constant  alarm.  While  stationed  at  Johnstown  Nicho 
las  Stoner  often  went  hunting  and  fishing  with  other 
lads,  to  provide  a  dainty  morsel  for  some  officer,  who 
thought  more  of  his  palate  than  of  his  purse ;  and  con 
sequently  paid  liberally  for  their  success.  Young 
Stoner,  in  company  with  three  others,  one  Charles- 
worth,  Charles  Darby  and  John  Foliard,  all  nearly  of 
the  same  age,  went  out  with  guns  and  fishing  tackle, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Johnson  Hall.  After  they  had  be 
come  busily  engaged  along  the  Cayadutta,*  all  at  once 
Darby,  without  uttering  a  word,  was  seen  to  start  as 
if  terribly  frightened,  and  run  off  in  the  direction  of 
the  Hall.  His  comrades  soon  learned  the  cause  of  his 
alarm,  by  seeing  a  small  party  of  Indians  emerge  from 
a  patch  of  hemp  not  far  distant  from  them,  and  near 
the  Hall  barn.  One  of  them  fired  on  Charles  worth, 
but  the  boys  scattered,  fled  and  all  effected  their 
escape.  These  Indians,  or,  as  probably  some  of  them 
were,  tories  disguised,  had  no  doubt  visited  the  settle 
ment  as  spies,  and  were  anxious  to  take  back  a  pri 
soner  as  a  proof  of  having  accomplished  their  mission. 
They  were  sure  of  their  reward,  if  they  could  return 

•  Ca-ya-dut-ta  signifies  muddy  creek,  says  the  Hon.  John  Dun 
ham,  of  Hamilton  county,  who  had  the  signification  from  Indian 
hunters.  The  creek  courses  in  Johnstown  through  a  soil  which 
gives  to  the  water  at  most  seasons  of  the  year  a  dirty  appearance ; 
hence  the  aboriginal  name: 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  69 

with  occular  evidence  of  having  visited  the  place  de 
signated  by  some  British  or  refugee  officer  in  Canada. 
Thomas  Harter,  an  inoffensive  man,  nearly  seventy 
years  old,  who  resided  in  Scotch  Bush,  a  few  miles 
from  Johnson  Hall,  went  to  his  field,  bridle  in  hand, 
to  catch  a  horse,  and  was  made  prisoner  and  taken  to 
Canada,  by  a  small  party  of  the  enemy  (in  the  fall  of 
1778,  or  spring  of  1779),  that  did  not  wish  to  harm 
him,  but  were  anxious  to  prove  they  had  been  to 
Johnstown.  His  unaccountable  absence  from  home 
greatly  alarmed  his  family,  but  their  apprehensions 
were  softened  by  a  tory  neighbor,  who  assured  them 
he  was  alive,  but  had  been  taken  prisoner  as  a  matter 
of  necessity,  and  would  be  kindly  used.  His  treat 
ment  was  not  as  cruel  as  that  meted  to  most  prisoners, 
and  he  lived  to  return  home,  to  the  great  joy  of  his 
friends. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Conrad  Reed,  a  baker  in  New  York  city,  married 
Miss  Barbary  Stoner,  a  second  sister  of  Henry  Stoner, 
and  removed  to  Johnstown  just  before  the  Revolution. 
He  dwelt  some  distance  from  the  fort,  but  was  em 
ployed  to  bake  for  the  garrison.  When  on  duty  at 
Johnstown,  the  Stoner  boys  not  unfrequently  took 
occasion  to  visit  their  uncle's  family,  but  those  visits 
were  not  approved  by  their  father;  who  knew  that 
his  kinsman  was  tinctured  with  royalty,  and  he  often 
cautioned  them  against  going  there.  Nicholas  called 
there  one  evening,  and  had  been  but  a  short  time  in 
the  house,  when  he  heard  a  slight  tap  upon  a  window. 
Mr.  Reed  instantly  disappeared  through  a  trap-door 
into  the  cellar  without  a  candle,  and  his  wife  went 
out  of  the  house.  There  seemed  a  sprinkling  of  mys 
tery  in  the  affair,  but  it  did  not  excite  Stoner's  fears, 
and  he  awaited  in  silence  the  issue.  After  a  few 
minutes'  absence,  his  aunt  came  in  having  in  her  hand 
several  gaudy  handkerchiefs.  She  appeared  rather 
more  reserved  after  the  singular  interruption  of  the 
family,  and  he  soon  returned  to  the  fort. 

Stoner  learned  subsequently,  that  a  small  party  of 
the  enemy,  one  of  whom  was  John  Howell,  who  dwelt 
between  Johnstown  and  Sacondaga,  had  visited  the 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  71 

settlement  as  spies:  that  they  had  seen  him  through 
the  window,  and  by  a  tap  on  a  pane  of  glass,  a  signal 
she  well  understood,  had  called  out  Mrs.  Reed,  to  con 
sult  her  about  making  him  a  prisoner.  She  told  them 
that  if  he  was  captured  there,  it  would  be  the  ruin  of 
their  family ;  for  her  husband  would  certainly  lose  his 
employ  as  baker  for  the  garrison,  if  in  fact  he  was  not 
imprisoned.  They  reluctantly  withdrew,  although 
Howell  could  hardly  consent  to  let  so  favorable  an 
opportunity  pass  for  securing  certain  evidence  of 
having  accomplished  their  mission.  The  young  fifer 
did  not  know  until  long  after,  how  near  he  had  been 
to  a  Canadian  prison.  The  handkerchiefs  left  with 
Mrs.  Reed  were  presents,  to  adorn  the  necks  of  several 
tory  ladies,  whose  husbands  or  lovers  were  in  Canada. 
About  a  mile  from  the  Johnstown  fort  (the  jail  in 
closed  by  strong  palisades),  dwelt  Jeremiah  Mason, 
whose  family  was  numbered  among  those  in  the 
vicinity,  as  friendly  to  the  cause  of  liberty.  This 
Mason  had  a  daughter  named  Anna,  about  the  same 
age  as  our  hero;  who  was  a  maiden  very  fair  to  look 
upon.  Nature  had  given  her  Charming  proportions; 
a  stature  seemly,  gracefully  jutting  out  where'  swell 
ings  were  most  becoming,  and  bewitchingly  tapering 
where  diminution  is  sought  in  female  form.  Her  skin 
was  clear  and  fair,  and  her  hair  and  eyes  black,  the 
latter  shaded  by  raven  lashes  under  the  control  of 
muscle,  that  gave  to  the  organs  of  love  a  most  melting 
expression. 


72  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Some  distance  farther  from  the  fort,  and  on  the 
same  road  as  Mason,  dwelt  a  family  named  Browse; 
the  male  members  of  which  wrere  in  the  camp  of  the 
enemy.  At  home  were  Mrs.  Browse  and  two  beauti 
ful  daughters.  They,  too,  were  in  their  teens,  and 
like  Anna  Mason,  they  had  sparkling  black  eyes,  ruby 
lips  and  cherry  cheeks.  The  war  of  the  Revolution 
soon  rendered  neighboring  families  distant  and  formal, 
where  they  looked  with  diverse  favor  upon  the  acts 
of  the  contending  parties,  even  though  they  had  been 
intimate  before.  The  resolutions  of  vigilance  com 
mittees  often  tended  to  such  a  result. 

I  have  remarked  elsewhere,  that  young  Stoner,  when 
on  duty  at  Johnstown,  went  hunting  in  the  proper 
season.  His  pigeon  hunting  often  gave  him  an  inter 
view  with  the  young  ladies  named,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  did  Anna,  as  the  hunter  was  about  to  proceed 
farther  from  the  garrison,  with  some  anxiety  and  a 
reproving  look,  cast  a  caution  in  his  path  from  her 
father's  door,  such  as  "  Nicholas,  you'll  be  surprised 
yet  at  that  tory  house  and  taken  off  to  Canada:  you 
ha^  b, ...  -  not  go  iu^  If  the  maiden  had  not  con- 

ce,  ""t*  -T  •"  the  young  fifer,  the  reader 

will  a^  was  possessed  of  sisterly 

feelings.  He  wa,  a  ^uite  partial  to  Anna,  as  he 
admits,  and  we  think  he  must  have  promised  her  to 
limit  his  future  excursions  to  a  nearer  range,  else  why 
the  caution  observed  in  another  visit. 

As  the  young  musician  usually  hunted  in  the  same 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  73 

direction,  it  was  suspected  by  more  than  one  at  the 
station  that  he  went  sky-larking,  and  James  Dunn, 
who  was  possibly  in  the  secret  of  his  destination,  one 
day  told  Capt.  Pell  that  "  if  he  did  not  look  out.  he 
would  lose  his  fifer,  as  he  not  only  went  upon  danger 
ous  grounds,  but  hunted  two  kinds  of  pigeons"  The 
captain,  whose  inclinations  led  him  to  follow  all  the 
fortunes  of  war,  took  occasion  secretly  to  catechise 
the  young  hunter ;  and  the  latter,  with  his  usual  can 
dor,  owned  up.  The  consequence  was,  the  commander 
of  the  garrison  concluded  the  hunting  of  pigeons  must 
be  rare  sport,  especially  if  they  wrere  not  too  lean,  and 
soon  obtained  a  promise  from  young  Nimrod  to  take 
him  where  he  could  find  one  nestled. 

Arrangements  having  been  made  for  a  hunt,  secretly 
of  course,  a  garment  was  thrown  over  the  back  of  an 
old  wrhite  mare  belonging  to  the  widow  Shutting, 
which  sought  its  living  around  the  fort;  and  selecting 
a  propitious  evening,  the  hunter  and  his  pupil — under 
cover  of  a  cluster  of  trees  a  little  distance  from  the 
garrison,  mounted  their  Rozinante  and  set  off.  The 
reader  may  be  surprised  that  tlr  '  tarted  on  nj» 
hunt  in  the  evening,  and  e  *Ji 

that  they  left  their  shootinb  ^  ou^'fis  is 

al?  owing  to  his  ignorance  of  the  poKc;,  of  war,  for 
he  should  know  that  game  is  easier  taken  on  the  roost 
than  on  the  wing. 

It  was  the  wish  of  the  master  hunter  to  avoid  pass 
ing  on  their  way  the  house  of  Jeremiah  Mason,  and 

7 


74  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

why,  possibly  the  reader  may  infer;  he  says  himself, 
however,  it  was  from  fear  a  watch-dog  might  betray 
the  nature  of  their  errand  and  thus  startle  the  best 
game  :  consequently  a  blind  and  circuitous  route  was 
chosen,  some  distance  from  the  public  highway. 
Whether  the  animal  was  too  heavily  loaded  or  not,  we 
can  not  judge  any  better  than  the  reader  (sin  is  said 
to  be  weighty),  but  sure  it  is  that  in  threading  an 
intricate  footpath  carpeted  by  a  web  of  briars  and  un 
derbrush  along  a  ravine,  the  mare  stumbled  and  went 
heels  over  head,  sending  her  riders  far  from  her,  if  not 
pell-mell,  certainly  Pell  and  Nich.  Bestowing  some 
harsh  epithets  upon  the  poor  beast,  which  probably 
had  the  worst  of  the  bargain,  they  did  not  attempt  to 
remount;  but  leaving  the  old  mare  to  her  fate,  they 
proceeded  on  foot. 

On  arriving  near  the  hunting-grounds,  Stoner  went 
forward  to  reconnoitre,  and  finding  the  coast  clear, 
returned  and  conducted  his  captain  into  a  neat  little 
cottage,  with  two  rooms  below,  and  possibly  as  many 
above.  The  ceremony  of  an  introduction  once  passed, 
the  captain  soon  found  himself  quite  at  home.  The 
time  for  retiring  to  rest  at  length  arrived,  and  as  the 
old  hen  roosted  in  the  room  they  were  in,  it  became 
necessary  for  the  hunters  to  leave  it:  consequently  the 
hunter  most  familiar  with  the  premises,  followed  the 
pullet  in  its  flight  to  a  chamber.  The  other  bird  soon 
after  fluttered  past  the  captain  into  an  adjoining  room, 
whither  he  pursued  possibly  to  capture  it. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  75 

I  do  not  consider  it  important  to  the  present  narra 
tive  to  stop  and  inquire  of  an  ornithologist, 

u  If  birds  confabulate  or  no: 

'Tis  clear  that  they  were  always  able 

To  hold  discourse,  at  least  in  fable  j" 

and  that  the  genus  columba, 

Soon  are  cooing  when  together 
If  they  meet  in  coolish  weather, 

is  a  fact  so  well  established,  it  must  be  obvious  to  the 
reader  that  pigeon  hunting  may  be  rare  sport.  Some 
time  after  the  beautiful  birds  under  consideration  had 
flown  to  separate  rooms,  into  which  we  can  not  think 
of  introducing  the  reader,  as  the  cooing  was  done 
agreeably  to  the  most  approved  style  then  in  vogue  in 
western  New  York,  the  loud  barking  of  Mason's  dog 
fell  upon  the  ears  of  the  hunter  closeted  above.  His 
apprehension  was  in  a  moment  on  tiptoe;  for  to  be 
surprised  by  a  party  of  the  enemy  and  either  slain  or 
captured  with  his  captain  in  such  a  place  and  at  such 
an  hour,  without  their  having  the  least  means  of  de 
fence,  he  readily  saw  must  bring  scandal  if  not  dis 
honor  upon  the  American  arms;  and  he  descended 
(although  his  bird  attempted  with  a  delicate  little 
claw  to  prevent)  to  take  a  midnight  observation. 

It  turned  out  that  Mason's  sentinel  was  barking  at 
the  old  mare  the  hunters  had  abandoned.  Having 
collected  her  scattered  limbs,  she  too  had  concluded  to 
go  browsing,  and  was,  as  the  reader  will  perceive,  on 
the  right  track.  On  the  return  of  his  pioneer,  the 


76  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

captain  was  gratified  to  learn  that  there  was  no  real 
cause  of  alarm,  and  pigeon  hunting  soon  prospered 
again.  Towards  the  dawn  of  day  the  sportsmen  re 
turned  to  the  garrison;  Capt.  Pell  exacting  from  his 
musician  the  most  solemn  assurances  of  secresy  re 
specting  his  successful  and  only  attempt  at  fowling 
among  the  Browse,  until  he  should  meet  with  me. 

The  female  and  infant  part  of  many  families  in  the 
border  settlements  of  New  York,  whose  male  members 
were  foes  of  the  country,  removed  about  this  period  to 
Canada,  among  which  was  this  Browse  family;  and 
such  others  as  did  not  go  voluntarily,  were  compelled 
to  by  an  act  of  the  state  legislature  soon  after. 

In  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1780,  Nicholas  Stoner 
was  on  duty  in  the  valley  of  the  Hudson.  He  was  a 
fifer  of  the  guard  at  Tappan,  \vhich  attended  Major 
Andre  from  his  prison  to  his  gallows;  and  witnessed 
the  execution  of  that  unfortunate  man.  The  gallows 
was  constructed,  as  he  says,  by  the  erection  of  two 
white  oak  crotches,  with  a  cross-piece  of  the  same 
kind  of  timber,  all  with  the  bark  on.  Not  far  from 
the  gallows  was  an  old  woman  selling  pies,  to  whom 
Stoner  directed  his  steps.  •  He  met  at  her  stand  Elijah 
Cheedle,  then  a  stranger  to  him.  They  paid  this 
huckstress  $100  in  continental  money,  for  either  an 
apple  pie,  or  pumpkin  pie,  which  at  first  she  declined 
receiving:  she  finally  concluded  to  take  it,  observing 
as  she  did  so,  "  My  children,  the  pie  is  worth  more 
than  the  money,  but  I  will  take  it  that  I  may  be  able 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  77 

to  say,  I  sold  a  pie  for  one  hundred  dollars."  Mr. 
Cheedle  settled  at  Kingsborough  after  the  war,  where 
he  still  resides  a  respected  citizen. 

While  stationed  at  Snake  Hill,  near  the  Hudson, 
young  Stoner's  inclination  to  mischief  procured  for 
him  a  duplicate  flogging.  There  was  daily  about  the 
camp  a  boy  named  Albright,  who  had  been  so  un 
fortunate  as  to  lose  an  eye.  Stoner,  inclined  to  be 
waggish  with  all,  procured  the  eye  of  a  beef  butchered 
in  the  neighborhood,  and  offering  it  to  Albright,  said 
to  him,  "  Here,  take  this  and  you  will  then  have  two 
eyes  and  be  somebody."  The  boy  complained  to  his 
mother,  an  Irish  woman,  wrho,  stating  the  matter  to 
the  commanding  officer,  had  the  satisfaction  of  know 
ing  that  he  was  punished  for  treating  her  son  so  un 
kindly.  Stoner  did  not  relish  the  interference  of  the 
mother,  as  the  boy  was  about  his  own  age,  and  began 
to  puzzle  his  wits  for  some  method  of  retaliation.  A 
soldier's  agent  is  powder,  although  he  may  be  a  filer, 
and  loading  an  ugly  looking  bone  with  the  dangerous 
dust,  he  watched  a  favorable  opportunity  when  she 
was  near  his  tent,  and  applied  the  match  to  it.  The 
explosion  was  greater  than  he  had  anticipated,  and 
the  scattering  fragments  not  only  tore  the  old  woman's 
petticoats,  but  severely  wounded  her  arm.  Although 
he  had  improved  a  most  promising  occasion  to  avoid 
detection,  yet  some  trivial  incident  betrayed  Stoner  as 
the  artillerist,  and  he  was  very  severely  whipped  for 
the  act.  He  was  served  rightly  no  doubt. 
7* 


78  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

In  the  fall  of  1781,  Nicholas  Stoner  was  on  duty  at 
Yorktown,  and  when  the  seige  of  that  place  closed,  he 
saw  Gen.  O'Hara  surrender  his  sword  to  Gen.  Lincoln.* 

A  part  of  the  time  while  at  Yorktown,  our  hero 
was  a  fifer  under  the  noble-hearted  Lafayette.  One 

*  Several  errors  have  erept  into  history  about  this  ceremony. 
The  facts  were  as  follows:     In  May,  1780,  Gen.  Lincoln,  then  in 
command  at  Charleston,  S.  C.,  was  compelled  to  surrender  his 
sword  to  Cornwallis.     When  his  lordship  found  himself  obliged  to 
yield  to   the   allied   army,  he  knew  that   Lincoln,    who  was  his 
equal  in  rank,  was   with  the  conquerors,  and  as  the  terms  now 
meted  to  him  were  precisely  like  those  dictated  to  Lincoln,  he 
possibly  may  have  conjectured  that  that  officer  would  be  designated 
by  the  great   American  commander   to  receive   his  own  polished 
blade.     Be  that  as  it  may,  certain  it  is  that  instead  of  appearing 
on  the  occasion,  as  a  man   of  real   courage   and  generosity  would 
have  done  (for  that  officer  lacks  moral  courage  who  can  not  share 
defeat  with  his  men),  he  feigned  illness  and  sent  Gen.  O'Hara  to 
do  the  disagreeable  honors ;  and  that  officer  very  handsomely  per 
formed  the  ceremony  of  tendering  his  sword  to  Gen.  Lincoln,  who 
was  appointed  by  Washington  to  receive  it.     Capt.  Eben  Wil 
liams,*  who  was  present  assured  the  writer,  that  Lincoln  received, 
reversed,  and  again  restored  the  hilt  of  the  weapon  to  its  owner, 
with  a  dignity  and  grace  of  gesture  he  could  never  forget,  for  he 
had  never  seen  it  equalled.     Several   persons  who  witnessed  this 
ceremony  have  corroborated  what   I  have  here  stated,  and  an  old 
soldier  (James  Williamson),  who  received  half  the  British  stand 
ards,  to  the  question,  why  did  not  Cornwallis  surrender  his  own 
sword?  replied,  "  I  guess  he  was  a  little  sick  at  his  stomach!"1"1 

In  a  picture  intended  to  represent  this  scene,  and  but  recently 
got  up,  Gen.  Washington  erroneously  appears  in  the  act  of  re 
ceiving  the  resignation  from  O'Hara,  the  latter  being  on  foot.  The 

*  This  hero  died  at  his  residence  in  Schoharie,  July  1,  1847,  aged  nearly  99 
years.    He  was  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  79 

Darby,  a  fifer,  having  been  killed,  Stoner  was  sent  as 
a  substitute  to  Gen.  Lafayette's  troops. 

Mr.  Nicholas  Hill,  a  worthy  and  intelligent  citizen 
of  Florida,  N.  Y.,  was  also  at  Yorktown  during  its 
seige,  as  a  young  musician.  He  informed  the  writer, 
at  an  interview  in  the  summer  of  1846,  that  the  firing 
on  the  British  works  did  not  take  place  until  the 
Americans  had  completed  a  line  of  redoubts  and  bomb 
batteries,  so  as  to  play  on  the  greater  part  of  the  ene 
my's  fortifications  at  once.  The  allied  army  had  raised 
a  liberty  pole,  and  the  signal  to  commence  an  assault 
was  given  in  the  evening,  by  a  hand-grenade  sent  up 
near  the  liberty  pole,  attached  to  a  sky-rocket.  The 
gunners  stood  ready  with  linstocks  on  fire,  and  as  soon 
as  the  grenade  exploded  in  the  air,  they  were  applied 
to  the  cannon.  (Dr.  Thatcher,  in  his  Military  Jour 
nal,  says  Gen.  Washington  applied  the  first  match.) 
The  simultaneous  discharge  of  such  an  array  of  ord 
nance,  was  perhaps  never  heard  before;  and  nothing 

general  officers  present,  American,  French  and  British,  as  several 
witnesses  have  assured  the  writer,  were  all  mounted.  The  pic 
ture  of  this  scene  by  Trumhull,  a  beautiful  steel  copy  of  which  is 
made  the  fontispiece  of  Howe's  Historical  Collections  of  Virginia. 
although  painted  soon  after,  presents  the  British  general  trudging 
along  on  foot,  and  without  side  arms;  while  Dr.  Thatcher,  in  his 
Military  Journal,  made  at  the  time  and  published  long  since, 
stated  that  he  was  elegantly  mounted.  Col.  Abercrombie,  who 
commanded  the  left  wing  of  the  British  army  on  this  occasion, 
was  also  on  horseback.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  more  care  is  not 
taken  in  preparing  historical  pictures,  lest  truth  be  violated,  and 
the  young  taught  popular  errors  never  to  be  corrected. 


80  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

could  in  the  night  exceed  the  sublimity  of  the  con 
cussion.  To  use  the  language  of  Mr.  Hill,  "It  seemed 
as  though  the  world  was  at  an  end — or  that  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  were  coming  together  /"  It  must  have 
been  the  most  magnificent  salute  ever  before  given  in 
America.  After  the  first  discharge  the  firing  con 
tinued  as  fast  as  the  pieces  could  be  loaded. 

At  some  period  of  this  seige,  Mr.  Hill  was  so  for 
tunate  as  to  obtain  eleven  guineas  from  the  pocket  of 
a  dead  Briton.  "  While  this  money  lasted,"  says 
Stoner,  "  we  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  have  the 
pleasure  of  his  acquaintance,  lived  like  fighting  cocks." 

The  British  prisoners  made  at  Yorktown,  were  sent 
to  interior  military  posts;  and  Col.  Cortlandt's  regi 
ment,  to  which  Nicholas  Stoner  belonged,  on  its  re 
turn  march  took  five  hundred  prisoners,  destined  for 
Fredericksburg,  in  charge  for  some  distance.  While 
the  troops  were  crossing  at  a  ferry,  probably  York  or 
Rappahannoc  river,  Stoner  saw  a  French  officer  drop 
his  purse,  and  lost  no  time  in  restoring  it  to  the  owner. 
The  officer  grateful  for  its  recovery,  although  he  had 
not  yet  missed  it,  rewarded  him  with  a  half  doubloon 
($8),  numerous  bows,  and  not  a  few  expressions  of  re 
gard,  such  as — "  You  pea  grand  poy !  You  pe  bon 
honest  American!  You  pe  a  ver  fine  soldier,  be  gar!  " 
and  the  like.  The  reception  of  this  money,  obtained 
through  the  generosity  of  a  kind  hearted  stranger,  for 
an  evidence  of  commendable  integrity,  afforded  young 
Stoner  more  pleasure,  as  he  assured  the  writer,  than 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  81 

could  possibly  the  whole  amount  the  purse  contained, 
had  he  dishonestly  kept  it;  for  to  retain  that  which  we 
know  another  has  lost,  is  almost  as  great  a  crime  as 
to  purloin  it  either  by  stealth  or  force;  and  a  "con 
science  void  of  offence,"  allows  its  possessor  to  sleep 
soundly  and  have  pleasant  dreams.  The  young  musi 
cian  had  many  friends  while  his  eight  dollars  lasted, 
for  come  easy,  go  easy,  was  the  soldier's  motto. 

Henry  Stoner,  as  elsewhere  stated,  enlisted  for  a 
term  of  three  years,  in  the  American  army.  At  the 
expiration  of  that  time  he  received  his  discharge  at 
Verplanck's  point,  soon  after  which  he  reenlisted  at 
Groton,  for  three  months,  to  fill  another  man's  place. 
After  the  time  of  his  second  military  engagement  was 
up,  he  returned  home.  For  about  one  year  he  lived 
on  the  farm  of  Col.  John  Butler,  on  Switzer  hill,  from 
which  he  went  to  reside  near  Tribe's  hill,  not  far  dis 
tant  from  Fort  Johnson.  The  farm  to  which  he  re 
moved  from  Butler's,  is  now  in  the  town  of  Amster 
dam,  and  was  long  known  as  the  Dr.  Quilhott  place: 
the  late  John  Putman,  if  we  mistake  not,  was  residing 
on  this  farm  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

In  the  summer  of  1782,  a  party  of  seven  Indians 
traversed  the  forest  from  Canada  to  the  Mohawk  val 
ley,  the  ostensible  object  of  whose  mission  was  to 
capture  or  destroy  William  Harper,  afterwards  judge 
(he  resided  for  some  years  in  Queen  Anne's  chapel 
parsonage),  John  Littel,  afterwards  sheriff,  and  such 
others  as  chance  might  throw  in  their  way.  Arriving 


82  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

at  the  house  of  Dries*  Bowman,  to  the  eastward  of 
Johnstown,  the  hostile  scout  learned  that  Henry  Stoner 
was  a  whig  of  the  times;  that  he  had  two  sons  then 
in  the  American  army,  and  that  he  was  living  in  a 
situation  from  its  retirement,  exposed  to  their  mercenary 
designs.  Thwarted  in  their  original  plan,  they  direct 
ed  their  steps,  piloted  by  Bowman,  to  the  dwelling  of 
Stoner,  and  on  their  way  captured  a  man  by  the  name 
of  Palmatier. 

Unsuspicious  of  danger,  Mr.  Stoner,  accompanied 
by  a  nephew  named  Michael  Reed  (son  of  Conrad 
Reed),  went  early  one  morning  to  a  field  to  hoe  corn; 
it  was  the  first  hoeing  for  the  season.  Mrs.  Stoner 
having  prepared  breakfast,  blew  a  horn  to  call  her 
friends,  and  they  were  about  to  leave  the  corn-field, 
as  young  Reed,  a  lad  then  in  his  teens,  discovered 
two  Indians  armed  with  hatchets  approaching  them 
from  adjoining  woods,  and  directed  the  attention  of 
his  kinsman  that  way.  The  latter,  who  kept  a  loaded 
gun  in  his  house,  attempted  to  gain  it  by  flight,  seeing 
which,  one  of  his  foes  ran  so  as  to  cut  off  his  retreat. 
While  making  an  angle  in  the  road,  the  savage  headed 
him,  by  crossing  a  piece  of  growing  flax. 

Whether  the  victim  offered  to  surrender  himself  a 
prisoner  to  the  British  scalper,  is  not  known;  it  is 
very  probable  he  did;  but  the  cry  of  mercy  was  un 
heeded,  and  the  assassin's  keen  edged  tomahawk  de 
scended  with  a  crash,through  an  old  fashioned  beaver 

*  Dries  is  an  abbreviation  for  Andreas,  the  German  of  Andrew. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  83 

hat  and  what  resistance  the  skull  offered,  and  pene 
trated  the  brain.  The  scalping  knife  was  quickly 
unsheathed,  and  several  fingers  of  a  hand  the  stricken 
patriot  had  laid  imploringly  upon  his  aching  forehead, 
were  nearly  cut  off  with  the  scalp  lock — the  merchan 
dise  that  would  then  most  readily  command  British 
gold.  Some  of  the  Indians  now  ran  to  the  dwelling, 
which  was  soon  rifled  of  its  most  valuable  contents, 
and  set  on  fire.  As  they  approached,  Mrs.  Stoner  dis 
covered  them  near  the  door,  and  snatching  up  a  frock, 
threw  it  out  of  a  back  window  which  was  open.  The 
enemy  lingered  sufficiently  long  to  secure  what  plun 
der  they  desired,  and  see  the  house  so  effectually  on 
fire  as  to  ensure  its  destruction,  and  then  directed 
their  course  towards  Canada.  No  personal  injury 
was  offered  Mrs.  Stoner,  and  soon  after  the  destructives 
had  retired,  she  obtained  the  dress  cast  from  the  win 
dow,  the  only  article  she  was  enabled  to  save,  and 
went  to  the  house  of  John  Harman,  a  neighbor,  sup 
posing  her  husband  and  young  Reed  were  prisoners. 

Bowman  aided  the  prisgners  in  carrying  their  plun 
der  to  a  secret  hiding  place,  near  the  Sacondaga, 
where  beside  a  log,  they  had  concealed  food.  Pal- 
matier  effected  his  escape  on  the  first  night  after  his 
capture,  to  the  great  joy  of  his  friends;  and  the  feigned 
prisoner,  Bowman,  was  allowed  to  return  home  the 
night  following,  From  their  secret  rendezvous,  near 
the  present  village  of  Northville,  the  party  journeyed 
with  their  captive  Reed,  by  the  northerly  route  to 


84  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Canada,  where  he  became  a  drummer  in  Butler's  Ran 
gers  and  remained  until  the  war  closed. 

Harman,  after  the  arrival  of  Mrs.  Stoner  at  his 
house,  suspected  Bowman  of  treachery,  and  made 
known  his  suspicions  to  some  of  his  neighbors,  who 
went  with  him  to  Stoner's  premises.  Going  from  the 
ruins  of  his  house  to  the  corn  field,  they  found  him 
where  he  had  been  cut  down,  in  or  near  the  road. 
He  was  still  alive,  and  although  unable  to  speak,  sig 
nified  by  signs,  his  desire  for  water,  which  was  pro 
cured  in  a  hat  as  soon  as  possible;  but  on  drinking  a 
draught  he  expired  immediately.  He  was  buried  be 
neath  a  hemlock  tree,  near  which  he  had  been  slain. 
Thus  ignobly  perished  a  brave  man,  who  with  scores 
of  other  citizens  on  the  frontiers,  of  all  ages,  sexes, 
and  conditions,  found  an  untimely  grave,  because  the 
evidence  of  their  destruction  would  command  a  liberal 
price  in  the  camp  of  the  enemy.  English  freemen, 
where  is  thy  blush?-  Where  is  thy  shame  for  the 
deeds  of  hellish  cruelty  inflicted  by  thy  hirelings,  not 
only  on  brave  men,  but  oa  unoffending  mothers  and 
smiling  infants?  LIBERTY  purchased  at  such  a  price, 
oh,  with  what  jealousy  should  it  be  guarded! 

When  Palmatier  returned  and  made  it  known  that 
Bowman  had  aided  the  Indians  in  carrying  their  stolen 
goods,  the  latter  was  arrested  by  patriots  and  confined 
in  the  Johnstown  jail,  then  fortified.  A  party  of 
whigs,  among  whom  were  Godfrey  Shew  and  his  son 
Henry,  John  Harman,  James  Dunn  and  Benjamin 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  85 

DeLine,*  assembled,  fully  determined  to  make  Bowman 
confess  his  evil  deeds.  Among  other  devices  resorted 
to,  to  make  the  tory  disclose  the  information  desired, 
a  rope  was  thrown  round  some  fastening  overhead 
with  a  noose  upon  his  neck;  and  he  was  required  to 
mount  a  barrel.  But  he  was  interrogated  and  threat 
ened  in  vain;  and  after  the  patience  of  his  accusers 
was  well  nigh  exhausted,  Dunn,  who  partook  largely 
of  the  patriotic  spirit  of  the  times,  swor-e  he  should 
hang;  and  kicking  the  barrel  «from  under  him  he  did 
hang — or  rather  stood  very  uncomfortably  upon  air 
for  a  little  time ;  but  was  finally  taken  down,  and  with 
various  warnings  about  his  future  conduct,  was  again 
allowed  his  freedom. 

At  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  Nicholas  Stoner 
was  on  duty  at  King's  Ferry. 

*  At  the  time  of  Sir  John  Johnson's  invasion  of  Johnstown  and 
its  vicinity  in  the  summer  of  i 780,  DeLine  and  Joseph  Scott  were 
living  in  Johnson  Hall.  When  Johnson  visited  there  to  procure 
his  concealed  property,  DeLine  and  Scott  were  made  prisoners 
and  taken  to  Canada.  From  his  having  been  a  hunter  and  fa 
miliar  with  the  forest,  DeLine  was  tightly  bound.  This  was  the 
second  time  they  were  taken  to  Canada  during  the  war,  and  how 
long  they  remained  prisoners  there  at  this  time  is  unknown  to 
the  writer. 

8 


CHAPTER  VI. 

John,  a  son  of  Philip  Helmer,  named  as  one  of  the 
pioneer  settlers  in  Fonda's  Bush,  who  remained  there 
after  his  patriotic  neighbors  had  removed  to  Johns 
town,  accompanied  Sir  John  Johnson  to  Canada  on 
his  removal  from  Johnson  Hall,  early  in  the  Revolu* 
tion.  Returning  to  the  settlement  not  long  after,  he 
became  an  object  of  suspicion;  was  arrested  by  the 
patriots,  and  confined  at  Johnstown.  A  sentinel  was 
placed  over  him  who  was  very  green  in  the  service, 
and  improving  a  favorable  opportunity,  the  prisoner 
took  occasion  to  praise  his  gun ;  and  closed  his  adula 
tion  by  requesting  permission  to  look  at  it,  which  was 
readily  granted.  The  piece  had  hardly  passed  out  of 
the  young  guard's  possession,  ere  his  authority  was 
set  at  defiance,  and  its  new  owner  took  it  to  a  place  of 
retirement  to  inspect  its  merits;  which  were  not  fully 
decided  upon  until  he  had  safely  arrived  in  Canada. 

At  a  later  period  of  the  war,  young  Helmer  again 
had  the  audacity  to  visit  the  Johnstown  settlements. 
He  returned  late  in  the  fall,  and  was  concealed  at  his 
father's  house  for  some  time,  intending  on  the  return 
of  spring,  if  possible,  to  take  back  some  recruits  with 
him  for  the  British  service.  The  nonintercourse  so 
generally  observed  between  whig  and  tory  families 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  87 

favored  his  design,  but  by  some  means  his  place  of 
refuge  became  known  to  three  patriotic  neighbors, 
Benjamin  DeLine,  Solomon  Woodworth  and  Henry 
Shew,  who  determined  on  his  capture.  Well  armed, 
they  proceeded  one  night  to  the  vicinity  of  his  father's 
dwelling,  and  concealed  themselves  at  a  place  where 
they  had  reason  to  suppose  he  would  pass.  They  had 
not  been  there  long  when,  unsuspicious  of  danger,  he 
approached  the  trio,  who  poised  their  fire-arms  and  he 
yielded  to  their  authority,  and  was  lodged  in  the  Johns 
town  jail.  The  entrance  to  the  fort  through  the  pick 
eted  enclosure,  was  on  the  south  side. 

Helmer  had  a  sister  named  Magdalene,  the  Germans 
call  the  name  Lana,  by  this  name  .she  was  known. 
Miss  Lana  was  on  intimate  terms  with  a  soldier  then 
on  duty  at  the  Johnstown  fort;  and  at  an  interview 
with  him  after  one  of  several  visits  to  her  brother,  to 
whom  she  carried  such  little  comforts  as  a  sister  can 
provide,  she  got  a  pledge  from  him,  that  when  on 
sentinel  duty  he  would  unlock  the  prison  door  and  set 
the  prisoner  free.  It  was  in  the  night  time  and  while 
his  vigils  lasted,  that  she  had  found  access  to  the  pri 
soner.  True  to  his  promise,  Lana's  lover  did  set  her 
brother  at  liberty,  and,  with  another  soldier,  was  se 
duced  from  his  duty  by  the  prisoner,  when  both  fled  in 
his  company.  When  she  wills  it,  what  can  not  wo 
man  do?  A  sergeant  and  five  men,  Amasa  Stevens, 
Benjamin  DeLine,  before  named,  and  three  continental 
soldiers  were  soon  upon  their  trail,  which  they  were 


88  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

enabled  to  follow  by  the  fall  of  a  light  snow,  and  taking 
with  them  a  lantern  that  they  might  travel  by  night, 
they  came  up  with  and  surprised  them  in  the  woods. 
The  two  soldiers  were  fired  upon  and  killed,  but  Hel- 
mer,  with  a  severe  bayonet  wound  in  his  thigh  es 
caped:  he  was  afterwards  discovered  nearly  dead,  in 
some  bushes  where  he  had  concealed  himself,  and  wras 
taken  to  the  fort:  there  he  was  cured  of  his  wounds 
and  again  imprisoned.  By  some  unaccountable  means 
he  succeeded  the  third  time  in  effecting  his  enlarge 
ment;  fled  to  Canada,  and  there  remained.  He,  too, 
had  been  a  hunter  before  the  war,  and  was  familiar 
with  the  forest.  A  part  of  the  preceding  facts  were 
from  Jacob  Shew.  At  an  interview-  between  Helmer 
and  Nicholas  Stoner,  which  took  place  in  Canada 
subsequent  to  the  war,  he  told  the  latter  that  he  suf 
fered  almost  incredible  hardships  in  making  his  last 
journey  to  that  country. 

In  the  last  year  of  the  Revolution,  Nicholas  Stoner 
belonged  to  a  band  of  musicians,  which  marched  into 
New  York  with  troops  under  Col.  Willett,  on  its 
evacuation  by  the  enemy.  He  played  the  clarionet, 
as  did  also  Nicholas  Hill.  During  the  stay  of  Gen. 
Washington  in  that  city,  an  exhibition  of  fire-works 
took  place,  on  which  occasion  the  band  alluded  to 
performed.  Stoner  also  saw  Washington  enter  the 
barge  at  Whitehall  on  his  leaving  New  York;  and  to 
use  his  own  words,  was  one  of  the  band  that  played 
him  off. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  89 

Mischief  lurked  in  the  veins  of  young  Stoner  to  the 
end  of  the  war,  and  often  brought  him  into  difficulty, 
from  which  fortune  sometimes  extricated  him  quite  as 
easily  as  he  deserved  to  be.  The  summer  of  1783, 
was  one  of  comparative  inactivity  in  the  army,  as 
hostilities  had  nearly  ceased  that  spring.  Stoner  was 
with  a  body  of  troops  which  were  encamped  back  of 
Newburgh,  when  a  little  incident  occurred  which 
afforded  soine  momentary  amusement.  In  the  camp 
was  a  black  soldier,  who  had  frozen  off  his  toes  while 
under  Col.  Willett  the  preceding  February,  in  his 
abortive  attack  on  Fort  Oswego.  In  consequence,  the 
poor  fellow  experienced  such  difficulty  in  walking, 
that  few  could  observe  his  peculiar  gait,  without 
having  their  risible  faculties  get  the  mastery. 

As  he  was  waddling  along  near  the  young  musician, 
the  latter  called  him  a  stool-pigeon.  The  words  were 
scarcely  uttered,  ere  the  sable  patriot,  who  felt  the  in 
sult  sensibly,  pursued  the  offender,  armed  with  a  bay 
onet,  threatening  vengeance.  A  clarionet  was  a  poor 
weapon  with  which  to  repel  an  attack,  and  its  pos 
sessor  fled  for  dear  life,  and  took  refuge  in  the  hut  of 
Lieutenant-Col.  Cochrane,  who  was  then  entertaining 
several  friends.  So  abrupt  an  entrance  started  all  to 
their  feet,  little  doubting  that  the  enemy  from  New 
York  were  upon  them:  but  fears  of  an  invasion  were 
soon  at  an  end,  as  close  upon  the  heels  of  Stoner  came 
tumbling  in  the  infuriated,  frost-bitten  hero.  What's 
the  matter 1  What  has  happened?  What  means  this 


90  TR'APPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

intrusion?  several  voices  were  at  once  demanding,  as 
the  last  enterer,  almost  out  of  breath,  stammered  out — 
"  Massa  curnil !  dis  deblish  musiker,  he  'suit  me  berry 
bad;  Fin  lame,  can't  help  it;  froze  my  feet,  like  to 
froze  my  body  too:  all  under  Curnil  Will't  in  de  bush; 
snow  knee  deep :  dis  rascal  call  me  tool  pigeon  ;  I  no 
stand  it." 

" I  comprehend,"  said  Col.  Cochrane:  "you  have 
been  very  unfortunate  while  in  the  service  of  your 
country,  and  it  grieves  you,  as  well  it  should,  to  have 
any  one  speak  lightly  of  your  misfortunes." 

"Eezzur!" 

"  Well,  my  good  fellow,  leave  the  matter  to  me, 
and  go  to  your  quarters:  I'll  punish  the  impudent 
rascal." 

"  Dat's  wat  I  want,"  said  the  lame  soldier,  now  re 
stored  to  good  humor;  "  he  desarbs  it,  and  I  hope  you 
whip  him  berry  hard,  massa  curnil;  yah-yah-yah — " 

"  That  I  will,"  interrupted  the  officer. 

"Tank  you,  curnil,  cause  you  my  friend;"  con 
tinued  the  offended  warrior,  as  he  turned  to  go  out, 
and  restored  a  care  worn  drab  and  black  hat  to  his 
bump  of  pugnacity.  While  closing  the  door  to  leave 
the  presence  of  his  umpire  and  friends,  a  smile  of 
satisfaction  was  seen  lurking  about  his  under  lip,  and 
he  was  observed  to  close  his  fist  and  shake  it  at  his 
offender,  as  much  as  to  say — "  Ha,  de  curnil  gib  it  to 
you;  you  get  your  hide  loosened  dis  time." 

While  the  dialogue  lasted,  a  frown  sat  upon  the 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  91 

brow  oi  Col.  Cochrance,  and  the  young  culprit  began 
to  feel  in  imagination  the  whistling  lash  his  unruly 
tongue  had  invoked;  but  no  sooner  had  the  complain 
ant  closed  the  rough  door,  than,  in  spite  of  all  his 
efforts  to  the  contrary,  he  found  himself  obliged  to 
join  his  merry  companions  and  laugh  heartily.  The 
figure  of  the  limping  negro,  who,  if  he  did  not  wear 
cotton,  was  amazingly  outward-bound,  seemed  still 
before  him,  and  turning  to  the  mischief-maker,  he 
with  no  little  effort  gave  him  a  sharp  reproof  for  thus 
imprudently  wounding  the  feelings  of  one  who  should 
exite  his  sympathy;  and  then,  not  daring  to  venture 
a  longer  speech,  lest  he  should  spoil  it  with  a  laugh, 
he  ordered  him  from  his  presence  with  a  threat  of 
terrible  vengeance  at  the  end  of  a  rawhide,  if  he  ever 
did  the  like  again. 

Bowing  his  thanks  for  the  easy  and  unexpected 
terms  meted  to  him,  young  Stoner  promised  to  do  bet 
ter  in  future,  and  as  he  left  the  hut  to  seek  his  own, 
the  walls  of  the  rude  dwelling  behind  him  shook  with 
the  boisterous  merriment  of  its  inmates,  at  their  very- 
unique  entertainment. 

When  thQ  war  of  the  Revolution  closed  and  the 
dove  took  the  place  of  the  eagle — when  the  prattling 
infant  could  nestle  in  its  mother's  bosom  secure  from 
midnight  assassins — when  the  warrior  once  more  laid 
aside  his  sword  and  musket  to  grasp  the  hoe  and  spade 
of  thrift — when  commerce  again  spread  her  white 
wings  without  fear  of  the  foeman's  fire — when  art  and 


92  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

science  again  smiled  o'er  hill  and  dale,  enriched  by 
the  blood  of  freemen  slain — when  LIBERTY,  with  a 
home  of  her  own,  invited  the  oppressed  of  the  earth 
to  her  embrace,  extending  to  the  penury-stricken  the 
horn  which  needed  only  his  industry  to  become  one  of 
plenty — then  and  not  till  then  did  our  hero,  grown  to 
man's  estate,  return  again  to  reside  in  the  vicinity  of 
Johnstown. 

Where  is  the  hoary-headed  warrior  that  never  felt 
the  melting  influence  of  woman's  smiles?  If  any  such 
there  are,  let  them  come  forth  while  I  tell  them  a  brief 
love-story  of  their  own  time.  I  have  already  informed 
the  reader,  that  there  dwelt  at  Johnstown  in  the  Re 
volution,  a  soft  haired,  dark  eyed  maiden  named  Anna 
Mason;  and  have  shadowed  forth  the  fact,  that  a  little 
intimacy  existed  between  her  and  our  hero  in  their 
youthful  days.  As  no  matrimonial  engagement  had 
passed  between  them,  not  having  seen  or  heard  from 
the  young  pigeon  hunter  for  several  long  years;  and 
not  informed  whether  the  glory  of  a  dead  warrior  or 
the  triumph  of  a  live  one  were  his ;  in  fact,  not  know 
ing  if  he  were  alive  in  a  distant  colony,  but  what 
some  other  young  heart  then  beat  against  his  own;  it 
is  not  surprising  that  she  looked  upon  him  as  lost  to 
her,  however  vividly  fancy  at  times  may  have  brought 
back  his  graceful  figure. 

Among  the  Johnstown  patriots  was  a  young  man 
named  William  Scarborough,  who  answered  also  to 
the  name  of  Crowley.  His  mother,  at  the  time  she 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW   YORK.  93 

married  Jeremiah  Crowley,  was  a  widow  Scarborough, 
her  husband  having  been  killed  in  the  batteau  service, 
and  was  already  possessed  of  little  Willie,  but  people 
did  not  always  stop  to  consider  his  true  parentage,  and 
after  a  while  he  almost  ceased  to  be  called  Scarborough. 
On  page  477  of  my  History  of  Schoharie  County,  etc., 
where  his  death  is  mentioned,  he  is  called  Crowley,  as 
I  was  then  ignorant  of  his  true  parentage.  William 
Scarborough,  who  was  in  some  respects  a  very  worthy 
young  man,  paid  his  addresses  to  the  charming  Anna 
Mason.  Now  William  was  a  brave  youth,  and  had 
been  in  the  service  of  his  country,  which  Anna  hap 
pened  to  know,  and  on  which  account  she  the  more 
highly  respected  him;  for  the  women  of  that  period 
could  and  did  discriminate  between  right  and  wrong; 
between  liberty  and  oppression.  To  cut  a  long  story 
short,  for  wooing  is  full  of  mazes  and  phases,  and  in 
teresting  filagree,  William  found  himself  enamored 
with  the  bewitching  Anna,  who,  on  his  making  tender 
advances,  cast  a  long  sigh  on  the  war-path  of  a  cer 
tain  hunter,  blushed  deeply  and  reciprocated  ardently 
his  attachment. 

Early  in  the  year  1781,  but  in  what  month  we  can 
not  speak  with  certainty,  Anna  Mason  was  led  to 
Hymen's  altar,  an  altar  on  which  have  been  offered 
many  pure  affections,  but  few  more  unsullied  than 
hers,  and  became  the  bride  of  her  heroic  WTilliam. 
Days,  weeks,  even  months  passed,  and  still  the  young 
wife  was  happy;  should  she  ever  be  otherwise?  for 


94  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

she  had  a  kind  husband,  and  was  surrounded  by  those 
who  loved  and  respected  her. 

The  green  summer  flew  past,  and  autumn  with  her 
russet-clad  meadows  and  golden  forests  arrived,  and 
still  Anna  Scarborough  was  cheerful  and  happy:  but 
alas !  a  civil  war  that  had  raged  for  years  and  stained 
with  life-blood  the  threshold  of  many  dwellings  within 
a  few  miles,  was  still  devastating  the  land;  and 
although  the  war-cry  for  a  little  season  was  removed 
to  a  distance,  and  no  immediate  danger  was  appre 
hended,  yet  the  midnight  alarm  might  again  break  on 
the  ear,  and  the  most  tender  ties  be  sundered  in  a  mo 
ment:  for 

Storms  that  have  been  again  may  be ! 

The  battle-axe  if  yet  on  high, 

Stained  with  the  blood  of  martyrs  free — 

When  thought  most  distant  may  be  nearest  by; 

And  from  it  fondly  cherished  may  not  fly. 

On  the  morning  of  October  25,  1781,  a  large  body 
of  the  enemy  under  Maj.  Ross,  entered  Johnstown  with 
several  prisoners,  and  not  a  little  plunder;  among 
which  were  a  number  of  human  scalps  taken  the  after 
noon  and  night  previous,  in  settlements  in  and  adjoin 
ing  the  Mohawk  valley;  to  which  was  added  the 
scalp  of  Hugh  McMonts,  a  constable,  who  was  sur 
prised  and  killed  as  they  entered  Johnstown.  In  the 
course  of  the  day  the  troops  from  the  garrisons  near 
and  the  militia  from  the  surrounding  country,  rallied 
under  the  active  and  daring  Willett,  and  gave  the 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  95 

enemy  battle  on  the  Hall  farm,  in  which  the  latter 
were  finally  defeated  with  loss,  and  made  good  their 
retreat  to  Canada.  Young  Scarborough  was  then  in 
the  nine  months'  service,  and  while  the  action  was 
going  on,  himself  and  one  Crosset  left  the  Johnstown 
fort,  where  they  were  on  garrison  duty,  to  join  in  the 
fight,  less  than  two  miles  distant.  Between  the  Hall 
and  woods  they  soon  found  themselves  engaged. 
Crosset  after  shooting  down  one  or  two,  received  a 
bullet  through  one  hand,  but  winding  a  handkerchief 
around  it,  he  continued  the  fight  under  coves  °f  a  hem 
lock  stump.  He  was  shot  down  and  killed  there,  and 
his  companion  surrounded  and  made  prisoner  by  a 
party  of  Scotch  troops  commanded  by  Capt.  McDonald. 
When  Scarborough  was  captured,  Capt.  McDonald 
was  not  present,  but  the  moment  he  saw  him  he  or 
dered  his  men  to  shoot  him  down.  Several  refused ; 
but  three,  shall  I  call  them  men?  obeyed  the  dastardly 
order,  and  yet  he  possibly  would  have  survived  his 
wounds,  had  not  the  miscreant  in  authority  cut  him 
down  with  his  own  broadsword.  The  sword  was 
Caught  in  its  first  descent,  and  the  valiant  captain  drew 
it  out,  cutting  the  hand  nearly  in  two. 

Why  this  cold-blooded  murder?  Were  those  hostile 
warriors  rivals  in  love?  Had  the  epauletted  hero,  com 
missioned  at  the  door  of  the  infernal  regions,  sought 
the  hand  of  the  blooming  Anna  and  been  rejected  be 
cause  his  arm  was  raised  against  his  suffering  country? 
Or  must  the  prisoner  be  destroyed  because  in  arms 


96  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

with  his  countrymen?  A  more  hellish  and  malignant 
act  was  not  perpetrated,  even  by  the  sons  of  the  forest, 
on  the  frontiers  of  New  York.*  Jeremiah  Crowley, 
the  step-father  of  Scarborough,  was  made  a  prisoner 
by  the  enemy  and  taken  to  Canada.  Mrs.  Scarborough, 
who  was  at  her  father's  on  the  morning  of  the  action, 
fled  to  the  fort  with  her  father,  Mrs  Mason  choosing 
to  brave  the  dangers  of  the  day  to  save  her  effects. 
Mason's  house  stood  a  little  north  of  the  present  site 
of  John  Yost's  tavern,  and  on  the  edge  of  the  Hall 
farm.  The  action  was  fought  in  its  vicinity,  and  thir 
teen  balls  were  fired  into  it,  which  no  doubt  kept  the 
old  lady  from  falling  asleep.  One  of  McDonald's  men, 

*  Previous  to  the  war,  McDonald  and  Scarborough  were  neigh 
bors,  and  in  a  political  quarrel  which  took  place  soon  after  the 
commencement  of  national  difficulties  and  ended  in  blows,  the 
loyalist  was  rather  roughly  handled.  A  spirit  of  revenge  no  doubt 
prompted  him  to  wreak  his  vengeance  on  an  unarmed  prisoner. — 
Stoner. 

Scarborough  was  overbearing  and  at  times  insolent  towards  those 
who  differed  with  him  in  politics.  On  one  occasion  during  the 
war,  at  the  gristmill  in  Johnstown,  Scarborough  met  an  old  man 
upon  whom  he  heaped  a  deal  of  abuse.  The  young  miller,  a  mere 
lad,  offended  at  such  unkind  treatment,  jumped  into  a  sleigh  then 
at  the  door,  rode  up  to  the  fort,  and  informed  the  garrison  of  what 
he  had  witnessed.  Several  soldiers,  determined  to  see  fair  play, 
returned  with  the  miller-,  and  on  their  reproving  Scarborough  for 
ill  treating  the  poor  old  man,  he  turned  upon  and  began  a  quarrel 
with  them.  The  result  was  he  received  a  severe  castigation  for 
his  temerity,  which  cooled  him  down.  From  James  Frazier, 
then  a  boy,  who,  if  I  mistake  not,  witnessed  the  whole  scene  at 
the  mill.. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  97 

who  had  been  ordered  to  fire  on  young  Scarborough  and 
refused  to  obey,  was  so  disgusted  with  his  captain  for 
the  act,  that  he  deserted  the  same  evening  and  joined 
the  Americans. 

On  the  morning  after  their  death,  the  remains  of 
Scarborough  and  Crosset  were  taken  to  the  fort  on  a 
wooden-shod  sleigh  drawn  by  horses.*  Need  I  stop  to 
tell  the  reader  how  the  young  bride,  Anna  Scarborough, 
was  overwhelmed  with  sorrow  on  the  day  succeeding 
the  Johnstown  battle?  How  her  keenest  sensibilities 
were  on  fire,  at  beholding  the  mangled  remains  of  her 
beloved  William;  and  what  mental  agony  she  endured? 
But  such  sufferings  are  at  all  times  the  attendants  of  a 
civil  war,  in  which  neighbor  is  clad  in  armor  against 
his  fellow,  and  kinsman  against  those  of  his  own  blood. 
Some  time  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  and  about 
eleven  months  after  the  sealing  of  the  nuptial  vow, 
Mrs.  Scarborough  was  presented  with  a  daughter  as  a 
pledge  of  her  early  love,  which  tended  in  no  measured 
degree  to  reconcile  her  to  the  cruel  fate  war  had  meted 
her.  This  daughter  grew  up  to  woman's  estate. 

Time  and  change  of  circumstances,  with  the  bless 
ings  of  social  intercourse  returning  at  the  close  of  a 
protracted  war,  again  restored  the  young  widow,-  who 
possesed  a  buoyant  disposition,  or  a  spirit  to  wrestle 

*  Yockum  Folluck,  a  soldier  killed  in  the  Johnstown  battle, 
was  found  with  a  piece  of  meat  placed  at  his  mouth,  as  supposed 
by  the  Indians  in  derision.  Folluck  resided  in  the  vicinity  of 
Johnstown. — David  Zielie. 


98  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

successfully  with  trials,  to  the  enjoyment  of  society 
and  the  shaded  realities  of  life. 

One  that  has  won,  again  may  win; 

and  soon  after  the  return  of  Nicholas  Stoner  to  Johns 
town,  he  came  within  the  pale  of  the  young  widow's 
charms,  which  in  the  military  camp  had  often  brought 
him  to  his  senses,  and  shortly  after  sought  and  obtained 
her  hand  in  marriage.  Although  her  affections  had 
been  chastened  by  the  blight  of  sorrow,  her  young 
heart  was  still  susceptible  of  an  ardent  offering  to  the 
one  who  had  inspired  the  first  budding  of  love  there, 
and  she  proved  a  boon  companion  and  cheerful  wife. 
The  fruit  of  this  connection  was  four  sons  and  two 
daughters.  Three  of  the  sons  are  still  living.  The 
daughters  were  Mary  and  Catharine:  the  former  mar 
ried  William  Mills,  and  now  ( 1847)  resides  in  Fulton 
county;  and  the  latter  died  when  a  young  woman. 

Nicholas  Stoner,  the  first  two  years  after  his  mar 
riage,  lived  near  Johnson  Hall,  and  then  settled  at 
Scotch  Bush,  now  known  as  McEwen's  Corners,  in 
the  western  part  of  Johnsto\vn,  where  he  resided  many 
years.  John  Stoner,  whose  temperament  did  not  bring 
him  into  trouble  often,  continued  in  the  army  to  the 
close  of  the  war;  after  which  he  was  for  several  years 
employed  by  Col.  Frederick  Fisher,  who  built  him  a 
farm-house  nearly  on  the  site  of  his  homestead,  and 
where  he  had  been  scalped  by  the  Indians.  To  the 
location  of  this  dwelling,  a  substantial  brick  edifice, 
I  have  already  alluded.  After  John  Stoner  left  the 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  99 

employ  of  Col.  Fisher,  he  married  Miss  Susan  Philes, 
by  whom  he  had  a  daughter,  Catharine  Ann,  and  four 
sons. 

Soon  after  the  Revolution,  Nicholas  Stoner  was  for 
three  years  a  deputy  sheriff  under  John  Littel,  Esq. 
He  was  also  a  captain  of  militia,  and  filled  several 
town  offices  at  different  periods.  When  we  again 
came  to  blows  with  England,  because  of  her  insolence 
in  searching  our  ships  and  impressing  our  seamen  into 
her  service,  the  Stoner  brothers  were  once  more  en 
rolled  in  the  American  army;  John  enlisting  in  1812, 
and  Nicholas  in  18 13.  John  Stoner,  who  was  a  drum- 
major  in  this  war,  was  taken  sick  at  Sacket's  Harbor 
and  died  there.  Nicholas  enlisted  at  Johnstown  into 
the  29th  New  York  regiment,  of  which  Melancthon 
Smith  was  colonel,  G.  D.  Young  lieutenant-colonel,* 
and  John  E.  Wool,  major.  He  joined  the  company 
of  Capt.  A.  P.  Spencer,  Lieut.  Henry  Van  Antwerp 
being  the  recruiting  officer  under  whom  he  enrolled 
his  name.  He  proceeded  to  Utica,  and  from  thence 
to  Sacket's  Harbor,  where  he  remained  until  fall;  at 
which  time  he  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Greenbush. 
Early  the  following  spring  he  joined  the  army  at 
Plattsburg,  going  from  Whitehall  by  water. 

Lake  Champlain  and  the  territory  adjoining  it,  in 
in  September,  1814,  became  the  theatre  of  some  of 
the  most  important  events  which  characterized  the  war 

*  Lieut. -Col.  Young  was  killed  in  1817,  in  the  abortive  attempt 
of  Gen.  Mina  to  revolutionize  Mexico. 


100  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

of  that  period.  The  withdrawal  of  troops  from  Platts- 
burg  to  succor  Fort  Erie,  determined  the  governor- 
general  of  Canada,  Sir  George  Prevost,  to  attack  it 
with  a  force  he  supposed  irresistible;  and  for  that  pur 
pose  he  invaded  the  territory  of  the  States  on  the  3d 
day  of  September,  with  an  army  some  fourteen  thousand 
strong,  well  equipped  and  provided  with  a  splendid 
train  of  artillery.  About  the  same  time,  so  as  to  make 
a  clean  sweep,  Commodore  Downie,  with  a  naval 
force  far  superior  in  number  of  vessels,  guns  and  men, 
made  preparations  to  engage  the  American  flotilla  on 
Lake  Champlain,  then  under  the  command  of  the  gal 
lant  Commodore  Thomas  McDonnough,  who,  ten  years 
before,  had  so  distinguished  himself  under  Decatur  in 
a  captured  Turkish  ketch  before  the  walls,  and  under 
the  very  batteries  of  the  bashaw  of  Tripoli. 

Gen.  Macomb,  at  Plattsburg,  had  only  about  fifteen 
hundred  men  at  his  command  when  the  invasion  of 
Prevost  began,  but  his  call  on  the  patriotic  sons  of 
,  New  York  and  Vermont  was  promptly  obeyed,  and  he 
was  enabled  to  keep  a  vastly  superior  force  at  bay, 
until  reinforced  sufficiently  to  cope  with  his  adversary. 
From  the  3d  until  the  llth  of  September,  repeated 
engagements  took  place  contiguous  to  Plattsburg,  in 
several  of  which  Nicholas  Stoner,  then  a  fife-major, 
was  engaged.  He  took  a  musket,  however,  and  per 
formed  duty  at  this  time  as  a  sergeant,  and  as  he  was 
a  good  marksman,  several  must  have  fallen  before  his 
deadly  aim. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  101 

There  was  not  a  little  excitement  in  the  American 
camp  at  Plattsburg  as  the  British  army  was  advancing 
on  that  post,  and  great  exertions  were  made  to  put  it 
in  a  fit  state  for  the  enemy's  reception.  The  merit 
orious  young  Trojan,  Captain  Wool,  as  a  reward  for 
his  daring  conduct  in  storming  Queenston  heights,  in 
October^  1812,  had  been  appointed  major,  of  the  29th 
New  York  regiment,  and  in  the  absence  of  its  colonels, 
the  command  of  it  devolved  upon  him  in  September, 
1814. 

As  the  enemy  were  approaching,  Major  Wool  vo 
lunteered  his  services,  and  repeatedly  on  the  5th  of 
September,  urged  General  Macomb  to  allow  him  to 
meet  the  enemy  and  make  at  least  a  show  of  resistance; 
as  nothing  more  could  be  expected  against  such  odds. 
The  general  met  his  earnest  solicitations  with  some 
coolness,  and  expressed  his  apprehensions  that  if  he 
wTent  put  he  would  be  captured.  On  the  evening  of 
the  5th,  the  gallant  Wool  received  a  reluctant  assent 
to  meet  the  enemy,  but  was  not  allowed  to  do  so  until 
morning.  So  anxious  was  he  for  active  service,  how 
ever,  that  long  before  day  light  on  the  6th,  the  major 
had  mustered  his  corps  and  was  on  the  Beekmantown 
road.  Gen.  Macomb  had  assured  him  Capt.  Leonard, 
with  his  company  of  artillery,  should  accompany  him, 
but  the  latter  declined  marching  without  the  express 
orders  of  the  general,  and  he  moved  forward  without 
him.  His  own  regiment  then  numbered  only  200  men, 
to  which  were  added  about  50  from  other  regiments^ 
9* 


102  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

and  some  30  volunteer  militia:  in  all  nearly  280  men. 
Gen.  Mooers  had  been  stationed  on  the  Beekmantown 
road  with  a  regiment  of  700  militia,  previous  to  Maj. 
Wool's  going  there,  and  the  latter  was  commanded  by 
Gen.  Macomb  to  set  the  militia  an  example  of  firm 
ness. 

The  enemy  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  were  ad 
vancing  by  three  roads,  the  eastern  road  running 
along  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Champlain;  the  west 
ern  leading  from  Chazy  to  Plattsburg,  and  called  the 
Chazy  road,  and  the  centre  known  as  the  Beekman 
town  road.  Maj.  Appling  with  a  body  of  riflemen 
was  posted  on  the  eastern  or  lake  road,  Maj.  Wool  on 
the  centre;  while  the  enemy  were  allowed  to  advance 
on  the  Chazy  road  without  opposition.  Maj.  Appling 
directed  his  attention  chiefly  to  obstructing  the  road 
by  falling  trees,  and  fell  back  in  time  to  join  Major 
Wool  near  Plattsburg. 

On  arriving,  just  at  day  light,  at  Gen.  Mooers's  camp, 
seven  miles  from  Plattsburg,  Maj.  W^ool  found  the 
enemy,  4000  strong,  were  not  far  distant  on  that  road, 
and  already  moving.  Gen.  Mooers  made  several  at 
tempts  as  the  enemy  drew  near,  to  form  his  men  for 
action,  but  they  broke  and  fled,  most  of  them  without 
firing.  Maj.  Wrool  told  him  he  had  better  head  his 
men  if  possible,  and  with  them  make  a  stand  upon  the 
road,  so  as  to  cover  his  own  retreat. 

The  unexpected  flight  of  the  militia,  as  may  be  sup 
posed,  created  some  confusion  in  the  infantry,  to  re- 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  103 

cover  from  which  and  gain  a  little  time,  Maj.  Wool 
ordered Capt  Van  Buren  with  his  company  to  charge 
the  enemy.  The  brave  captain  expressed  a  doubt 
about  his  ability  to  do  it;  fearing  his  men  would  de 
sert  him.  "  Shoot  down  the  first  man  that  attempts  to 
run,  or  I  will  shoot  you  /"  was  the  peremptory  order 
of  the  enthusiastic  major.  Van  Buren  quickly  moved 
forward  to  execute  the  command,  but  when  within  a 
few  rods  of  the  foe,  satisfied  his  handful  of  men  could 
hardly  be  trusted  to  charge  such  a  billow  of  animated 
matter,  he  ordered  them  to  halt  and  fire.  The  fire 
was  well  directed  and  told  fearfully  in  the  enemy's 
ranks,  which  were  sufficiently  retarded  for  Maj.  Wool 
to  dispose  of  his  Spartan  band  to  his  mind.  That 
Capt.  Van  Buren  did  good  service  in  his  morning  sa 
lute,  is  proven  by  the  fact,  that  twenty  of  the  enemy 
were*  carried  into  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Howe,  living 
near  by.  Maj.  Wool  formed  his  men  in  three  several 
double  platoons;  one  occupying  the  road,  and  the 
others  the  fields  or  woods  a  little  in  rear  of  the  first, 
and  on  either  side  of  the  road  with  out-flankers.  The 
British  in  column  continued  to  advance,  and  in  the 
order  named  the  Americans  kept  up  a  street  fight, 
firing  and  retreating  before  the  enemy:  the  troops  in 
the  street  again  forming  and  deploying  in  the  street 
after  each  fire,  a  little  in  the  rear  of  the  field  troops; 
and  those  in  turn  forming  and  deploying  in  rear  of  the 
platoons  occupying  the  street.  Thus  did  this  little 
detachment  of  brave  men  resist  the  invader's  approach 


104  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

step  by  step  for  nearly  six  miles,  doing  at  times  fear 
ful  execution  in  his  ranks,  and  setting  truly  an  ex 
ample  of  firmness  that  would  have  done  credit  to 
veteran  troops,  with  a  Buonaparte  for  a  commander. 

On  an  eminence  in  the  road,  called  Culver's  hill, 
Lieut.-Col.  Willington,  of  the  3d  regiment  of  British 
Buffs,  an  officer  of  gallant  bearing,  was  slain,  with  a 
number  of  his  men ;  while  a  little  farther  on,  forty  of 
the  enemy,  dead  and  wounded,  were  borne  into  the 
house  of  Maj.  Platt,  among  whom  was  Lieut.  Kings- 
bury,  and  possibly  some  other  officers.  Learning  in 
the  morning  that  Capt.  Leonard  had  not  accompanied 
Maj.  Wool,  Gen.  Macomb  ordered  him  forward  to  his 
assistance.  At  the  junction  of  the  Chazy  and  Beek- 
mantown  roads,  called  Halsey's  corners,  he  joined  the 
infantry  with  two  six-pounders.  At  this  place  the 
militia,  having  recovered  from  their  panic,  were 
brought  into  action  by  Gen.  Mooers.  They  were 
posted  in  woods  on  the  right  and  also  in  the  rear  of 
the  artillery;  the  infantry  being  mostly  behind  a  stone 
wall  along  the  Chazy  road,  to  the  left  of  the  ordnance. 
A  part  of  it  was  stationed  so  as  to  conceal  the  artillery, 
however,  and  as  the  British  advanced,  unsuspicious 
of  receiving  such  a  salute,  the  vvHr-dogs  were  un 
masked,  and  several  round  shot  plowed  their  bloody 
furrows  the  entire  length  of  the  enemy's  column.  At 
this  moment  the  Americans  observed,  says  an  eye 
witness,  "  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  discipline  ever 
exhibited."  The  gaps  in  the  British  ranks  were 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  105 

closed,  as  if  by  magic,  and  steadily  onward  was  their 
march. 

As  the  enemy  neared  the  field-pieces,  they  were 
greeted  with  grape  shot,  which  caused  them  to  halt, 
but  the  British  bugles  soon  sounded  a  charge,  and  the 
Americans  were  obliged  to  retreat,  which  they  did  in 
good  order  to  Gallows  hill,*  at  which  place  they 
made  the  last  stand  on  the  north  side  of  the  Saranac. 
Adjutant  Boynton,  a  young  officer  of  great  merit,  and 
whose  services  to  Maj.  Wool  were  invaluable  on  this 
stirring  day,  was  sent  by  the  latter  with  orders  to 
Maj.  Appling  to  join  him.  The  order  was  heroically 
executed  though  one  of  great  peril,  as  he  was  exposed 
to  the  fire  of  many  scores  of  British  muskets,  and  Maj. 
Appling  joined  the  invincible  29th  near  Gallows  hill. 
After  a  brief  stand  at  the  latter  place,  the  Americans 
fell  back  across  the  Saranac,  and  taking  up  the  bridge 
in  their  rear  they  kept  the  enemy  upon  the  north 
side  of  the  river.  In  removing  the  plank  of  this 
bridge,  the  Americans  suffered  considerably.  Maj. 
Stoner  assisted  in  taking  up  this  bridge,  and  also  the 
one  over  Dead  creek.  The  enemy's  loss  in  this  long 
road  fight  with  the  troops  under  Maj.  Wool,  in  killed 
and  wounded,  was  about  240,  a  number  nearly  equal 
to  his  entire  command  during  the  greatest  part  of  the 
action.  The  American  loss  was  about  45  in  killed 
and  wounded.  Maj.  Wool  had  a  horse  shot  under  him 

*  On  this  hill  the  Americans  erected  a  gallows  and  hung  a  Bri 
tish  spy  upon  it. 


106  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

during  the  day.  For  the  masterly  manner  in  which  he 
acquitted  himself  on  this  occasion,  he  was  breveted 
lieutenant-colonel ;  a  promotion  he  could  not  that  day 
have  merited,  had  he  not  been  surrounded  by  a  band 
of  iron-hearted  warriors. 

In  the  action  at  Gallows  hill  the  following  incident 
took  place.  William  Bosworth,  aserjeant-majorwho 
had  deserted  from  the  British  and  entered  the  Ameri 
can  service,  and  on  the  day  in  question  had  greatly 
distinguished  himself,  received  a  musket  ball  through 
his  thigh  which  brought  him  to  the  ground.  It  was 
impossible  for  the  Americans  to  bring  off  all  their 
wounded,  so  closely  did  the  enemy  press  upon  them. 
Apprised  of  the  fact  that  Bosworth  was  down,  Major 
Wool,  addressing  himself  to  Adjutant  Boynton,  ex 
claimed,  "  See  that  the  boys  throw  Bosworth  on  a 
horse  and  remove  him  to  a  place  of  safety,  for  if  he 
falls  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  they  will  either 
hang  or  shoot  him:  he  is  too  good  a  fellow  to  be  used 
up  in  that  manner;  take  him  off?"  A  horse  was 
quickly  provided  which  Stoner  held,  while  two  soldiers 
placed  the  wounded  sergeant  upon  his  back,  his  blood 
running  down  the  animal's  side.  The  wounded  man 
was  taken  to  Plattsburg  and  afterwards  to  Burlington, 
Vermont,  where  he  recovered.  The  reader  may  not 
be  surprised  to  learn,  that  the  generous-hearted  major, 
who  was  not  unmindful  of  the  fate  of  a  poor  soldier, 
even  in  a  fearful  shower  of  iron  and  lead,  is  the  illus 
trious  Major-General  WTool,  who  has  been  one  of  the 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  107 

brightest  stars  of  that  heroic  band,  which  has  recently 
covered  itself  with  such  a  blaze  of  glory  in  Mexico. 

The  army  of  Prevost  was  kept  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Saranac  by  Macomb  until  the  llth  of  September, 
at  which  time  Downie  prepared  to  engage  with  Mc- 
Donough.  Undaunted  by  the  superior  naval  force  of 
his  adversary,  the  latter  met  him  with  a  firmness  and 
coolness  characteristic  of  the  man.  It  is  stated  in  a 
newspaper  account  of  his  death,  that  he  engaged  the 
enemy  at  this  time  wdth  a  confident  trust  in  the  God 
of  battles  for  his  success.  Calling  his  brave  tars 
around  him  on  the  quarter-deck,  as  the  enemy  hove  in 
sight,  upon  his  knees  he  commended  his  cause  to  Him 
who  governs  the  universe.  This  engagement  was 
witnessed  by  both  armies,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose, 
with  intense  excitement;  as  upon  its  result  was  sus 
pended  the  probable  fortune  of  the  land  forces.  At  9 
o'clock  the  contest  began,  and  in  less  than  two  hours 
the  Confiance,  the  enemy's  flag-ship,  had,  with  two 
other  vessels,  struck  her  colors  to  the  Americans,  and 
several  British  galleys  had  been  sunk:  the  rest  of  the 
fleet  escaped  by  flight,  the  victors  being  unable  to 
pursue  them,  as  there  was  not  a  mast  standing  in 
either  squadron  to  which  a  sail  could  be  raised.  Com 
modore  Downie  was  among  the  slain. 

A  pleasing  incident  attendant  on  this  battle  should 
be  given  in  its  connection.  In  the  midst  of  the  fiery 
contest,  a  hencoop  on  the  Saratoga,  McDonough's  flag 
ship,  was  shot  away,  and  a  liberated  rooster  flew  into 


108  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

the  rigging  overhead  and  began  to  crow.  The  cir 
cumstance  was  ominous,  and  contributed  in  no  little 
degree  to  inspire  the  hardy  tars  with  confidence,  and 
they  responded  with  a  round  of  cheers  and  renewed 
exertions  to  his  Yankee-doodle-do ! 

The  artillery  of  the  land  forces  was  almost  con 
stantly  in  play  during  the  naval  engagement,  but  when 
the  Confiance  struck  her  colors,  the  army  of  Macomb 
took  time  to  give  a  huzzaing,  that  fell  on  the  ears  of 
Prevost  like  the  knell  of  death,  The  army  of  the  lat 
ter  was  in  full  retreat,  early  in  the  evening,  for  Canada. 
That  they  might  have  something  to  remember  their 
Yankee  neighbors  by,  as  they  were  about  to  strike 
their  tents,  Macomb  fired  a  national  salute,  with  uall 
cartridges,  into  their  camp. 

The  remains  of  Commodore  Downie,  with  those  of 
five  of  his  fellow  officers,  and  the  remains  of  five  offi 
cers  of  Commodore  McDonough's  squadron,  were 
brought  on  shore  and  buried  by  Gen.  Macomb  with 
the  honors  of  war;  on  which  occasion Maj.  Wool  was 
master  of  ceremonies  and  selected  the  place  of  burial. 
The  music  which  led  the  procession  consisted  of  some 
fifteen  fifes  and  as  many  drums,  the  latter  all  muffled, 
and  was  commanded  by  Maj.  Stoner:  the  tunes  Logan 
Water  and  Roslin  Castle,  were  played  during  the 
ceremony.  The  bodies  were  taken  to  a  grove  of  pines 
and  arranged  side  by  side  in  three  several  rows.  Two 
stately  pines  are  still  standing,  one  on  each  side  of 
Downie's  grave.  While  on  that  station  Maj.  Wool 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  109 

had  the  remains  of  the  officers  which  fell  on  the  Beek- 
mantown  road,  removed  and  deposited  beside  those 
which  fell  in  the  naval  service.  After  the  war  Mrs. 
Mary  Downie,  a  sister-in-law,  erected  a  tablet  to  the 
memory  of  her  gallant  kinsman. 

Some  weeks  after  the  above  incidents  transpired, 
Major  Stoner  conducted  several  British  officers  to  the 
grave  of  Commodore  Downie,  where  some  of  them 
manifested  much  feeling,  mingling  their  tears  of  sym 
pathy  with  the  dew-drops  of  heaven. 

When  Great  Britain  became  satisfied  that  her 
claims  to  oceanic  rule  were  not  well  founded,  and  the 
American  army  was  disbanded,  Gen.  Macomb  offered 
Maj.  Stoner  strong  inducements  to  join  the  national 
army,  which  he  declined. 

On  the  llth  of  September,  1842,  twenty-nine  years 
after  the  event,  the  Clinton  County  Military  Associa 
tion  celebrated  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Platts- 
burg  at  that  place,  in  a  very  commendable  manner, 
on  which  occasion  monuments  were  erected  to  the 
memory  of  all  the  officers  which  had  been  buried  near 
Commodore  Downie.  Gen.  Wool  and  his  suite  were 
present  by  special  invitation,  to  take  part  in  the  in 
teresting  proceedings.  Appropriate  addresses  were 
delivered  by  General  Skinner,  Col.  McNeil  and  Gen. 
Wool.  The  ceremony  of  placing  a  monument  at  Col. 
Willington's  grave,  was  very  properly  assigned  to 
Gen.  Wool,  before  whose  prowess  he  had  fallen  in 

battle. 

10 


110  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

How  creditable  to  the  enterprise  and  magnanimity 
of  the  citizens  of  Plattsburg,  in  so  just  and  appropri 
ate  a  manner  to  meet  and  mingle  their  sympathies 
over  the  remains,  not  only  of  their  illustrious  friends 
who  had  fallen  in  the  service  of  their  country,  but 
also  over  those  of  their  gallant  and  unfortunate  foes, 
who  found  a  final  resting  place  beneath  the  pines  of  a 
foreign  land.  Warrior  foes,  there  gently  slumber. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

I  have  chosen,  in  this  narrative,  to  present  Major 
Stoner's  military  life  connectedly,  although  some  of 
the  incidents  which  follow,  transpired  between  the 
wars. 

Fond  of  novelty  and  adventure,  and  inured  to  pri 
vations  and  hardships  in  the  Revolution,  which  pecu 
liarly  fitted  him  for  a  life  so  full  of  excitement  and 
peril,  Maj.  Stoner  became  a  celebrated  hunter.  Nor 
was  he  the  only  gamester  who  traversed  the  then  wil 
derness  of  North-Eastern  New  York:  several  of  his 
companions  in  arms  were  often  by  his  side,  threading 
their  own  intricate  foot-paths  along  a  score  of  crystal 
lakes,  the  greater  part  of  which  are  now  situated  in 
the  present  counties  of  Fulton  and  Hamilton.  There 
were  other  Nimrods,  or  master  spirits,  in  this  particular 
avocation,  two  of  whom  were  Nathaniel  Foster  and 
Green  White.  The  former  lived  in  Salisbury,  Herki- 
mer  county,  and  the  latter  in  Wooster,  Otsego  county. 
The  Johnstown  sportsmen  not  only  met  Foster,  White 
and  other  sportsmen  associated  with  them — as  they 
usually  went  in  pairs  for  the  greater  security  in  case 
of  sickness,  accident  or  difficulties  with  individuals  of 
the  craft — but  white  men  and  Indians  from  the  shores 
of  the  St.  Lawrence. 


112  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Difficulties  sometimes  arose  between  these  strangers 
of  like  avocation,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  other  tri 
bunal,  might  made  right.  Trouble  seldom  originated 
between  the  white  hunters,  however,  as  the  more 
noted  were  not  only  known  to  each  other,  but  their 
traps  readily  recognized  by  some  peculiar  mark,  were 
not  molested,  unless  it  were  to  take  out  game  in  dan 
ger  of  being  lost;  in  which  case  some  token  was  left 
to  apprise  the  owner  who  had  it,  and  that  it  would 
be  accounted  for  at  a  subsequent  meeting.  Over- 
jealous  of  their  rights,  the  New  York  and  Canadian 
trappers  did  not  at  all  times  scruple  to  avenge  an  in 
jury  done  them,  with  the  life-blood  of  the  offender,  as 
I  shall  have  on  several  occasions  to  show. 

The  class  of  men  of  whom  I  am  speaking,  not  only 
entered  the  forest  with  their  traps,  their  rifles,  and  a 
good  supply  of  ammunition,  their  hatchet  and  knife, 
and  often  a  jug  of  rum ;  but  what  was  all  important, 
a  pocket  compass  and  some  sure  means  of  kindling  a 
fire.  Friction  matches  were  then  unknown,  but  fire 
was  soon  enkindled  with  flint,  steel  and  tinder,  or 
touch-wood;  and  now  and  then  when  they  became 
wet,  by  a  flash  in  the  pan  of  a  gun.  If  trappers 
chanced  to  visit  the  water  courses  alone,  they  almost 
invariably  took  with  them  a  well  trained  dog.  Pack 
horses  were  often  employed  to  carry  provisions  to  the 
hunters'  canoes,  which  were  usually  moored  in  some 
little  eddy,  contiguous  to  which  the  trapping  began. 

One  of  the  evils  if  not  entailed  upon  us,  at  least 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  113 

greatly  augmented  by  war,  is  that  of  wide-spread  IN 
TEMPERANCE  ;  and  few  who  had  been  served  for  years 
with  a  daily  ration  of  rum  or  whiskey,  could  refrain 
from  its  use  in  after  life:  indeed  soldiers  had  not  only 
to  drink  with  each  other  after  the  Revolution,  as  a 
matter  of  courtesy,  but  every  one  esteemed  it  a  privi 
lege,  nay  a  duty,  to  treat  a  hero  who  had  periled  his 
life  for  his  fellows:  hence  many  of  them  who  could 
not  say  NO  when  invited  to  drink,  had  to  become  a 
walking  slop-bowl,  and  receive  flip,  kill  devil,  punch, 
or  the  raw  material  divested  of  its  lure.  Many  a 
scar-honored  veteran  filled  a  drunkard's  grave,  because 
custom  compelled  him,  of  all  others,  to  drink;  and 
not  a  few  more  of  the  same  band  would  have  found 
such  a  grave,  had  not  temperance  hung  her  rainbow 
along  Heaven's  blue  arch,  inscribed — My  worthy,  it 
shall  not  only  be  your  privilege,  but  creditable  for  you 
to  refrain  from  the  use  of  that  which  sets  the  brain 
on  fire,  destroys  domestic  happiness,  and  causes  pre 
mature  death. 

Vaumane  Jean  Baptiste  De  Fonclaiere,  a  French 
man  who  had  emigrated  to  this  country  in  the  Revo 
lution,  married  in  New  England,  and  after  the  close 
of  the  war  kept  a  public  house  in  Johnstown  for  many 
years.  The  first  house  he  occupied  is  still  an  inn,  and 
is  yet  standing,  a  few  doors  east  of  the  court  house.* 

*  In  1796,  De  Fonclaiere  erected  a  tavern  stand  at  Johnstown, 
in  the  forks  of  the  Fonda's  Bush  and  Tribe's  Hill  roads,  which 
stand  was  known  for  many  years  as  Union  Hall,  and  in  which  as 
10* 


114  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

The  Canadian  hunters,  who  were  familiar  with  the 
forest  between  Montreal  and  Johnstown,  from  having 
traversed  it  repeatedly  to  obtain  American  scalps,  not 
unfrequently  visited  the  latter  place  when  peace  re 
turned,  to  sell  their  furs,  where  they  found  a  ready 
market.  A  party  of  seven  arrived  there  in  the  spring 
of  the  year  soon  after  the  Revolution,  with  a  large 
quantity  of  fur,  and  put  up  at  the  inn  mentioned ;  dis 
posing  of  their  wealth  to  John  Grant,  then  a  village 
merchant.  He  was  enabled  to  carry  on  the  traffic, 
through  the  agency  of  Lieut.  Wallace,  who  could 
speak  the  Indian  tongue. 

"mine  host,"  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days.  This  Hall 
building  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Mr.  V.  Balch  as  a  private 
dwelling.  The  following  anecdote  of  the  old  Frenchman,  who  is 
still  remembered  around  Johnstown  for  his  extra  hows  and  es 
pecial  regard  for  the  comfort  of  his  customers,  was  told  the  author 
by  Thomas  Machin,  Esq. 

There  stands  in  Johnstown,  on  the  north  side  of  the  street,  a 
few  rods  to  the  eastward  of  the  first  inn  kept  by  De  Fonclaiere, 
an  antiquated  building  with  a  gambrel  roof,  owned  and  occupied 
before  the  Revolution  by  Maj.  Gilbert  Tice.  The  latter  building 
after  the  war,  was  occupied  as  a  tavern  stand  by  Michael  Rollins, 
a  son  of  the  emerald  isle.  De  Fonclaiere  kept  a  span  of  mettle 
some  horses,  and  when  a  deep  snow  had  spread  her  white  mantle 
over  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  and  the  bells  and  belles  hegan  to  jin 
gle  and  smile,  the  restless  steads  harnessed  to  a  sleigh  to  give  his 
ladies  an  airing,  wrere  brought  before  the  door,  with  their  nostrils 
snuffing  up  the  wind  in  the  direction  of  the  Mohawk. 

Left  only  un  leetle  moment  to  their  own  wills,  the  gay  animals 
of  Mons.  De  Fonclaiere,  either  of  which  would  have  served  a 
Ringgold  or  a  May  for  a  charger,  abused  the  confidence  of  their 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  115 

It  happened  during  the  stay  of  these  northern  hunt 
ers  in  JoTmstown,  that  Maj.  Stoner,  then  a  deputy- 
sheriff  under  Littel,  was  in  the  place  on  professional 
business.  Nathaniel  Thompson,  a  constable  whom 
he  desired  to  see,  he  found  seated  in  the  kitchen  at 
De  Fonclaiere's,  near  a  table,  on  which  stood  several 
flasks  of  liquor,  placed  there  at  the  expense  of  the 
Indians,  to  scorch  their  own  or  the  throats  of  those 
they  wished  to  make  their  friends.  Gin  was  formerly 
imported  in  cases  containing  a  dozen  or  more  square 
bottles,  such  were  those  under  consideration.  About 

master,  and  dashed  off  at  the  top  of  their  speed.  In  front  of  the 
rival  inn  stood  a  cow  directly  in  the  beaten  path,  which  belonged 
on  the  premises.  Either  the  speed  of  mully  was  insufficient  for 
the  task  of  leaping  into  the  deep  snow  soon  enough,  or  else  she 
resolved  to  dispute  the  right  of  soil  with  her  neighbors  in  plated 
gear ;  and  the  latter  in  bounding  past,  threw  her  upon  her  haunches 
beside  the  track,  and  as  chance  would  have  it,  she  rolled  on  her 
back  plump  into  the  sleigh.  The  party  intending  to  occupy  the 
seat  instead  of  the  kine,  came  to  the  door  in  time  to  see  the  latter 
drive  off  in  triumph,  urging  on  the  horses  by  a  most  doleful  bel 
lowing.  Nearly  a  mile  distant  the  sleigh  was  brought  up  in  a 
snow-drift,  where  team  and  driver  were  found  unharmed,  though 
terribly  frightened.  This  novel  incident  afforded  not  a  little 
amusement  for  a  time,  at  the  expense  of  the  garrulous  French 
man,  who,  by  the  by,  liked  a  good  joke  very  well  himself. 

The  following  inscription  is  from  a  tomb-stone  in  Johnstown. 
"  In  memory  of  John  Baptistc  Vaumane  De  Fonclaiere,  formerly 
a  captain  in  the  Martinique  regiment,  in  the  service  of  His  Most 
Christian  Majesty,  Louis  XVI,  and  for  thirty  years  past  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  who  departed  this  life  5th  January,  1811, 
in  the  7]st  year  of  his  age." 


116  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

the  room  were  several  Indians,  and  perhaps  some  fe 
male  members  of  the  family,  as  they  were  preparing 
dinner  for  their  red  customers.  Maj.  Stoner,  who  wras 
not  then  altogether  free  from  the  maddening  influence 
of  those  flasks  or  some  others,  observing  one  of  the 
strangers  near  Thompson  to  be  of  light  complexion, 
addressed  him  in  a  friendly,  perhaps  playful  manner, 
about  his  origin;  and  the,  Indian,  not  appearing  of 
fended  in  the  least,  replied  that  he  was  part  white. 
At  this  juncture,  up  came  another  of  the  party,  and  in 
an  insolent  manner  demanded  of  Stoner  in  broken 
English,  Indian  and  French,  wrhat  business  he  had  to 
interrogate  his  comrade.  "Out,  you  black  booger!" 
said  the  major,  who  never  would  take  an  insult  from 
an  Indian  writh  impunity ;  rolling  together  threaten 
ingly  at  the  moment  the  bones  of  his  right  hand. 

Liquor  is  brought  forward  to  cement  friendship,  yet 
it  often  produces  an  adverse  result,  for  men  influenced 
by  it  need  little  provocation  to  fight.  Face  to  face 
the  two  new  foes  grappled  to  test  their  physical 
powers.  The  major  was  too  much  for  his  antagonist, 
and  in  the  scuffle  which  followed,  threw  him  head 
long  upon  the  table,  oversetting  it  and  dashing  its 
quadrangular,  half-filled  bottles  into  scores  of  angles 
never  heard  of  in  geometry.  Quick  as  thought,  the 
red  man  was  upon  his  feet  and  leaping  the  table 
had  again  clenched  with  his  adversary.  Cooking 
stoves  are  an  invention  of  the  last  forty  years,  and  in 
the  kitchen  where  this  scuffle  took  place,  yawned  a 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  117 

huge  fire-place  filled  with  blazing  faggots;  while  upon 
the  hearth  before  it  stood  a  platter  of  fried  pork  swim 
ming  in  hot  fat,  and  a  dish  of  wilted  sallad,  just  taken 
from  a  bed  of  coals  by  some  member  of  the  family, 
who  was  providing  dinner  for  the  fur-sellers.  Stoner 
attempted  to  cast  the  Indian  into  the  fire,  but  falling  a 
little  short  of  the  aim,  the  latter  fell  plump  into  the 
dish  of  gravy,  burning  his  back  adown  in  a  most 
frightful  manner. 

The  fracas  had  occupied  but  a  few  moments,  yet 
the  whoops  and  loud  threats  of  the  combattants,  with 
the  whys  and  wherefores  of  spectators,  and  screams  of 
women,  had  been  sufficient  to  throw  the  whole  house 
into  one  of  uproar  and  confusion.  The  honest  land 
lord  entered  the  kitchen  trembling  between  contend 
ing  emotions  of  fear  and  passion,  believing  that  the 
character  and  business  of  his  house  would  be  ruined; 
and  with  numerous  threats  against  sheriff  Stoner, 
uttered  in  broken  English,  as  soon  as  the  storm  began 
to  subside,  ran  off  to  get  a  writ  of  Amaziah  Rust, 
Esq.,  then  a  lawyer  of  the  place.  Now  Squire  Rust,  as 
it  happened,  was  a  particular  friend  of  our  hero,  and 
knowing  what  an  untamed  spirit  he  possessed,  and 
withal  how  he  felt  toward  the  race  who  had  murdered 
his  father,  he  was  probably  not  much  surprised  to 
hear  that  the  major  had  worsted  an  Indian;  and  lay 
ing  down  his  pen  and  assuming  a  thoughtful  mood  he 
gravely  inquired,  "  Do  you  not  know,  sir,  that  Cap 
tain  Stoner  is  apt  to  be  deranged  with  the  changes  of 


118  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

the  moon?"  "  No,  monsieur,"  replied  Fonclaiere,  "  me 
did  not  know  that.  0 !  le  diable,  vat  shall  I  does 
then?  me  ruined  sartain!"  With  kind  assurances 
from  Mr.  Rust  (who  was  less  anxious  for  business 
than  are  some  professional  men),  that  all  would  soon 
be  forgotten — that  Stoner  would  no  doubt  make  full 
reparation  for  the  property  destroyed,  and  that  the  re 
putation  of  his  house  would  not  receive  any  lasting 
injury  on  account  of  the  morning's  frolic;  the  landlord 
was  persuaded  to  go  home  and  overlook  the  matter. 

On  returning  to  his  dwelling,  how  provokingly 
wrong  did  the  poor  Frenchman  find  things  had  gone 
in  his  absence.  Leaving  the  kitchen  after  his  second 
encounter  with  the  intrusive  Indian,  Major  Stoner 
entered  the  hall  where  he  almost  stumbled  upon  an 
Indian  called  Captain  John,  who  was  lying  upon  the 
floor  in  a  state  of  beastly  drunkenness.  Excited  by 
the  strong  wraters  of  death,  and  impassioned  by  what 
had  already  transpired,  he  halted  beside  the  inebriate, 
in  whose  ear  as  it  lay  up,  was  suspended  a  heavy 
leaden  jewrel;  the  weight  of  which  had  caused  the 
boring  to  become  much  elongated.  Placing  one  foot 
upon  his  neck,  and  thrusting  a  finger  into  the  slit  in 
the  ear,  the  unpolished  ornament  was  torn  out  in  an 
instant,  and  fell  upon  the  floor.  Unconscious  of  the 
injury  done  him,  the  poor  Indian  turned  over  with  a 
grunt,  and  Stoner  passed  into  the  bar-room:  the  place 
at  that  period  least  calculated  of  all  others,  to  quiet  a 
raging  mind. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  119 

The  name  of  Stoner  had  doubtless  fallen  upon  the 
ear  of  a  half-drunk  Indian  in  the  bar-room,  while  the 
kitchen  scene  was  enacting,  and  reminded  him  of  his 
former  acts;  for  he  had  drawn  his  scalp  ing-knife  to 
boast  to  several  by-standers  (one  of  whom  was  Abra 
ham  Van  Skiver),  of  the  deeds  of  blood  recorded  upon 
its  handle.  Nine  marks  indicated  the  number  of 
American  scalps  he  had  taken  in  the  late  war;  "  and 
this"  said  he,  pointing  to  a  notch  cut  deeper  than  the 
rest  to  indicate  a  warrior, "  was  the  scalp  of  old  Stoner!" 
Major  Stoner  entered  the  room  just  in  time  to  hear  the 
savage  boast  of  scalping  his  father,  and  as  the  brag 
gart  was  dancing  before  the  bar  with  yells  and  athletic 
gestures,  cutting  the  air  with  the  blade  which  had  so 
many  times  been  stained  with  the  crimson  torrent  of 
life:  stung  to  madness  by  the  thought  of  being  in  the 
presence  of  his  father's  murderer,  he  sprang  to  the 
fire-place,  seized  an  old-fashioned  wrought  andiron, 
and  with  the  exclamation,  "  You  never  will  scalp 
another  one !"  he  hurled  it,  red-hot  as  it  was,  at  the 
head  of  the  warrior.  His  own  hand  was  burned  to  a 
blister,  even  by  the  top  of  the  iron,  which,  striking 
the  object  of  its  aim  in  the  hottest  part  across  the 
neck  with  an  indellible  brand,  laid  him  out  at  full 
length  upon  the  floor;  the  register  of  death  dropping 
from  his  hand. 

The  quarrel  having  arrived  at  so  dangerous  a  crisis, 
some  of  the  friends  of  Major  Stoner  succeeded  in  get 
ting  him  out  of  the  house;  while  other  individuals  ran 


120  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

for  a  physician,  restoratives  and  the  like.  The  In 
dians  of  the  party  who  were  not  disabled  or  too  drunk 
to  stand  up,  were  boisterous  in  their  threats  of  re 
venge;  but  being  advised  to  leave  town,  and  possibly 
not  feeling  very  secure  in  their  own  persons  after  what 
had  already  happened,  they  lost  no  time  in  preparing 
for  a  departure  to  the  wilderness.  A  German,  named 
Samuel  Copeland,  was  employed  to  carry  them  in  a 
wagon  to  the  Sacondaga  river,  near  the  fish-house, 
where  they  had  left  most  of  their  rifles,  their  squaws 
and  canoes.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the  physician  and 
others,  that  the  Indian  with  seared  jugular,  could  not 
possibly  survive;  but  he  was,  with  his  fried  compan 
ion,  taken  along  by  his  fellows.  It  was  never  satis 
factorily  known  in  Johnstown  whether  this  party  of 
hunters  all  reached  Canada  alive  or  not,  but  it  was 
supposed  that  at  least  one  of  the  number  died  on  the 
way. 

Fearing  this  party  of  red  men  might  return  and  re 
venge  the  injuries  done  them  on  the  settlement,  if  no 
notice  was  taken  of  the  affair,  and  not  from  any  ill 
will  towards  Major  Stoner,  some  person  in  Johnstown 
lodged  a  complaint  against  him  for  the  part  he  had 
acted  at  De  Fonclaiere's,  and  he  was  arrested  and 
put  in  jail.*  As,  soon  as  it  became  known  abroad  that 
he  had  been  incarcerated,  and  only  a  day  or  two  was 
sufficient  -to  spread  the  news,  a  large  number  of  men 

*  This  old  building,  which  was  fortified  as  the  Johnstown  fort 
in  the  Revolution,  was  accidentally  burnt  down  in  Sept.  1849. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  121 

of  Revolutionary  memory,  many  of  whom  had  been 
sufferers  in  person,  property,  or  friends,  by  the  midnight 
assaults  of  their  country's  foes,  and  who  were  now 
disposed  to  justify  the  conduct  of  their  former  com 
panion  in  arms,  in  his  attempt  to  slay  the  murderer  of 
his  father,  assembled  around  the  prison  and  demanded 
his  enlargement.  Of  those  congregated  were  several 
of  the  Sammonses,  Fishers,  Putmans,  Wemples,  Fon 
das,  Vroomans,  Veeders,  Gardiniers,  Quackenbosses, 
and  a  host  of  others,  whose  names  can  not  now  be  re 
membered.  The  jailer  was  unwilling  to  liberate  the 
prisoner  without  a  formal  demand,  and  the  mob,  pro 
vided  with  a  piece  of  scantling,  stove  in  the  door  and 
brought  him  out. 

At  this  period  one  Throop  kept  a  tavern  near  the 
centre  of  the  village,  with  whom  sheriff  Littel  was 
then  boarding;  and  thither  the  party  in  triumph  di 
rected  their  steps  to  drink  with  the  liberated  hero. 
After  allowing  the  mob  some  time  to  jollify,  the  jailer 
went  down,  and  getting  Stoner  one  side,  asked  him 
if  he  was  ready  to  return!  "  Yes,"  he  replid,  and  at 
once  set  out  with  the  turnkey  for  the  jail,  some  forty 
or  fifty  rods  distant.  He  was  soon  missed,  and  the 
liberators,  learning  that  he  was  again  on  his  way  to  pri 
son,  once  more  set  the  law  at  defiance,  and  rescued  him 
from  the  custody  of  the  officer;  when,  to  comply  with 
their  wishes,  he  went  home  to  his  anxious  family,  and 
there  quietly  remained.  Thus  ended  an  eventful  scene 

in  the  old  hero's  life. 
11 


122  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

After  the  incidents  above  narrated  had  transpired, 
and  the  Indian  trappers  returned  to  their  wigwams, 
the  prowess  and  fearless  acts  of  the  Johnstown  warrior 
gave  him  no  little  celebrity  along  the  water-courses 
of  Canada;  and  many  a  red  pappoosewas  taught  in 
swaddles,  to  lisp  with  dread  the  name  of  Stoner, 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"  Dark  green  was  the  spot,  mid  the  brown  mountain-heathe^ 
Where  the  pilgrim  of  nature  lay  stretched  in  decay, 

Like  the  corpse  of  an  outcast  abandoned  to  weather, 
Till  the  mountain-winds  wasted  the  tenantless  clay." 

Walter  Scott. 

We  are  now  to  consider  a  peculiarly  exciting  por 
tion  of  our  hero's  life,  and  may  fail  to  give  the  reader 
but  a  faint  idea  of  the  countless  novel  incidents  fol 
lowing  the  footsteps  of  a  master  hunter,  although  in 
fancy  full 

"Oft  have  we  seen  him  at  the  peep  of  dawn, 
Brushing  with  hasty  steps  the  dews  away, 
To  meet  the  sun  upon  the  upland  lawn," 

and  thus  followed  him  on  to  the  wood-entangled  glen; 
where  the  growl  of  an  animal  caused  a  startle  and 
placed  the  thumb  on  the  fire-lock;  the  rustle  of  a  leaf 
fevered  the  blood,  and  the  snap  of  a  forest-twig  sent 
it  tingling  to  his  brain. 

In  trapping,  Major  Stoner  used  heavy  steel-traps 
with  two  springs  for  beaver  and  otter,  and  occasion 
ally  single  spring  traps  for  muskrat,  when  their  fur 
would  pay.  He  had  one  trap  four  feet  long  made  like 
the  former,  and  designed  expressly  for  bears.  The 
jaws  of  this  ugly  looking  customer,  are  crossed  on  the 
under  side  by  spikes,  which,  when  an  animal  is  en- 


124  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

trapped,  are  driven  through  the  eg  and  render  its 
escape  impossible,  unless  it  gnaw  its  own  limb  off 
above  the  fastening,  and  thus  gain  its  liberty.  To 
this  trap  is  attached  a  chain  five  feet  long,  with 
two  grappling  hooks  at  the  end,  so  shaped  as  to  fasten 
either  to  a  tree  or  the  ground,  and  bring  up  the  game. 
The  trap  and  chain  weigh  nearly  forty  pounds.  It 
required  two  hand-spikes  with  this  trap  beside  a  log, 
or  in  some  other  favorable  position,  to  set  it ;  on  which 
account  the  wary  hunter,  when  the  jaws  parted,  used 
the  precaution  to  place  a  billet  of  wood  between  them 
while  adjusting  the  pan,  lest  through  accident  he 
might  find  the  spikes  boring  his  own  limbs.  Nearly 
thirty  bears  have  been  taken  in  this  trap,  one-third 
of  them  by  its  owner.  On  one  occasion  a  bear  left  its 
toes  in  the  trap  and  escaped.  For  a  view  of  this  trap, 
doing  execution,  see  cloth-covered  books. 

If  hunting  with  a  partner,  each  carried  three  beaver 
traps,  and  when  traces  of  game  were  observed  the 
traps  were  set  in  the  water,  and  to  them  the  animals 
were  lured  by  a  peculiar  kind  of  bait  called  castoreum, 
or  beaver-castor,  remarkably  odorous  and  attractive 
even  in  the  water.  That  taken  from  one  beaver  was 
often  the  agent  for  exterminating  several  of  its  fel 
lows.  The  usual  time  of  hunting  began  with  cool 
weather  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  and  lasted 
about  two  months,  or  until  the  streams  and  lakes  be 
came  frost-bound  and  the  hunter's  paths  obstructed  by 
snow.  The  avocation  was  often  renewed  for  several 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  125 

weeks  with  the  breaking  up  of  winter,  the  hunters  at 
times  starting  upon  snow-shoes. 

One  of  the  individuals  with  whom  Major  Stoner 
sometimes  hunted,  was  Capt.  William  Jackson,  a  man 
of  courage  and  great  muscular  strength.  On  one  oc 
casion  they  set  out  for  a  hunt  towards  spring,  travel 
ing  on  snow-shoes.  Arriving  at  a  place  where  they 
had  to  cross  a  field  of  ice,  Jackson  took  off  his  snow- 
shoes.  With  other  indispensables  he  was  carrying  a 
sharp  axe,  and  by  some  misstep  he  slipped  and  fell 
upon  it,  cutting  himself  under  his  chin  in  a  shocking 
manner.  His  companion  was  two  days  in  getting  him 
back  to  the  nearest  settlement;  which  was  in  Chase's 
patent,  now  Bleeker,  and  about  eighteen  miles  from 
where  the  accident  happened.  Leaving  his  wounded 
friend  well  cared  for,  Stoner  retraced  his  steps  to  the 
wilderness;  and  Jackson  sent  James  Dunn  a  few  days 
after,  to  supply  his  place. 

Finding  an  inviting  prospect  for  their  business  on 
the  Sacondaga,  they  began  to  set  their  traps.  Hunters 
erected  lodges  for  their  accommodation  at  suitable 
distances  from  each  other.  They  were  small  huts 
made  of  bark,  peeled  for  the  purpose,  hence  the  ne 
cessity  for  an  axe;  besides,  it  was  needed  in  preparing 
fuel,  and  also  in  making  canoes;  which  they  con 
structed  by  digging  out  a  suitable  log.  Stoner  and 
Dunn,  after  building  huts,  preparing  for  each  a  tree- 
canoe,  and  securing  the  pelts  of  some  six  or  eight 

beavers,  left  their  traps  set  and  came  out  to  the  settle- 
U* 


126  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK, 

ment  on  Chase's  patent  for  provisions.  They  left 
their  canoes  in  their  absence,  in  a  stream  running  from 
Trout  lake  into  the  Sacondaga.  Their  journey  to  ob 
tain  food,  principally  bread,  as  hunters  could  generally 
supply  their  larder  with  fish  and  wild-game,  occupied 
only  a  few  days;  yet  on  their  return  they  soon  dis 
covered  that  all  was  not  right.  The  first  trap  they 
looked  for  was  one  that  had  been  set  by  Dunn,  on  the 
outlet  a  little  distance  from  the  lake ;  it  was  gone. 

Leaving  their  canoe  in  an  eddy  made  by  a  deposit 
of  drift-wood,  they  landed  and  proceeded  with  caution 
up  the  creek.  Arriving  near  the  lake  they  heard  a 
loud  halloo  !  to  which  Stoner  responded",  although  his 
companion  thought  it  a  loon.  They  now  halted  and 
awaited  in  silence,  to  learn  what  human  voices  be 
sides  their  own,  broke  the  general  solitude  of  the  forest. 
Soon  the  light  dash  of  a  paddle  was  heard,  and  im 
mediately  after  an  Indian  in  a  bark  canoe  rounded  a 
point  of  land,  and  a  few  strokes  from  his  brawny  arm 
sent  his  fairy  craft  into  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  beside, 
and  very  near  the  white  hunters.  Scarcely  had  the 
shoal  navigator  gained  the  point  named,  when  another 
Indian,  on  foot,  rounded  the  point  also,  and  stood 
within  a  few  paces  of  the  pale-faced  strangers.  At 
the  feet  o."the  Indian  in  the  canoe  lay  a  rifle  and  one 
of  Stoner's  traps.  The  hunter  on  shore  was  armed 
with  a  tomahawk,  carrying  in  one  hand  the  shell  of 
an  immense  turtle,  which  the  water  had  drifted  upon 
the  beach.  Both  parties  evinced  surprise  at  the  meet- 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  127 

ing;  but  the  Canadian  trappers,  who  proved  to  be  St. 
Regis  Indians,  appeared  least  at  ease. 

Hunters,  as  a  class,  are  very  tenacious  of  their 
rights,  and  priority  of  occupancy  usually  establishes 
a  claim  to  hunting  grounds.  Some  of  their  traps 
had  been  left  along  the  shore  of  the  lake,  in  the  di 
rection  from  whence  the  Indians  made  their  appear 
ance  ;  and  after  a  most  formal  meeting,  the  Johnstown 
hunters  charged  the  strangers  not  only  with  appro 
priating  their  fur  to  their  own  use,  but  also  their  traps 
in  which  it  had  been  taken.  This  was  denied  on  the 
part  of  the  accused,  notwithstanding  one  of  the  traps 
was  in  their  possession,  and  a  fierce  quarrel  of  words 
followed,  graced  by  an  exchange  of  harsh  epithets, 

until 

"Revenge  impatient  rose." 

The  Indian  on  shore,  who  was  nearest  to  Stoner, 
and  on  whom  the  latter  vented  not  a  few  wicked  say 
ings,  declared  that  he  had  seen  the  traps  alluded  to  at 
some  distance  above,  and  that  they  had  not  been 
molested.  The  white  hunters  insisted  upon  having  the 
accused  go  back  with  them  to  see  if  the  traps  were 
as  they  had  been  left;  this  the  other  party  attempted 
with  sundry  excuses  to  evade  doing.  The  one  on  land 
then  endeavored  to  gain  a  little  distance  under  some 
pretext,  and  the  other,  saying  he  would  go  back  as 
desired  after  gathering  some  bark,  was  observed  to 
grasp  his  rifle,  abandon  his  canoe  and  leap  from  it  to 
the  shore  opposite  Dunn. 


158  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

At  this  instant  the  sharp  crack  of  a  rifle  was  heard, 
and  in  the  echo  sent  back  by  the  hills  came  a  yell 
from  the  quivering  lips  of  the  Indian  on  the  lake 
shore,  not  unlike  that  of  a  savage  in  his  last  mo 
ments — the  tortoise-shell  falling  unreclaimed  from  his 
hand.  Indeed,  human  bones  might  have  been  seen 
on  this  spot  long  after  the  incident  here  related  had 
transpired.  Dunn  was  a  man  of  small  stature,  but 
made  up  in  nerve  and  agility  what  he  lacked  in 
physical  strength;  and  seeing  the  Indian  leap  from 
his  canoe,  he  sprung  into  it  in  his  pursuit,  thinking  thus 
to  cross  the  creek  dry-shod  and  detain  him.  But  the 
frail  barque  would  not  withstand  his  weight,  aug 
mented  with  his  descent  from  the  shore,  and  he  went 
through  it  plump  up  to  his  waist  in  the  water.  Ob 
serving  that  his  antagonist  was  fleeing,  without 
waiting  to  extricate  himself  from  his  unpleasant 
dilemma,  he  raised  his  gun  and  snapped  it,  but  as  the 
priming  had  been  wet  by  his  fall,  (percussion  locks 
are  an  invention  of  a  later  date,)  the  trapper  escaped. 
Had  he  looked  back  and  observed  the  plight  of  his 
pursuer,  he  would  no  doubt  have  halted  long  enough 
to  have  sent  a  bullet  through  his  head.  Whether 
these  two  Canadians  were  alone  on  this  hunt  is  not 
known,  but  their  loud  halloo  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  they  were  not. 

It  was  conjectured  that  the  hunter  who  had  jusi 
escaped  from  Dunn  had  fled  directly  to  the  Indians' 
camp;  and  with  his  trusty  piece  well  loaded,  Stonei 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  129 

left  his  companion  at  their  own  canoe  to  get  dry  as 
best  he  could,  and  being  set  on  the  opposite  shore, 
proceeded  in  search  of  said  camp.  To  seek  this  wil 
derness  lodge  alone,  without,  knowing  its  whereabouts 
or  how  it  might  be  guarded,  was,  after  what  had 
transpired,  one  of  the  most  presumptuous  and  daring 
feats  any  individual  could  perform,  as  a  concealed  foe 
might  have  detected  an  approaching  footstep  and 
speedily  revenged  the  fall  of  a  friend;  but  the  mission 
was  just  suited  to  the  spirit  of  the  trapper  who  had 
undertaken  it,  and  onward  he  went,  regardless  of 
peril.  In  a  secluded  spot  some  half  a  mile  or  more 
from  its  outlet  and  not  far  distant  from  the  lake  shore, 
he  arrived  at  the  object  of  search.  It  was  a  well 
built  cabin  for  comfort,  constructed  principally  of  bark 
and  set  against  a  bold  rock,  so  as  to  make  that  subserve 
the  purpose  of  one  wall.  It  had  evidently  been  aban 
doned  with  precipitation,  for  it  was  not  only  cheered 
by  a  blazing  fire,  but  in  it  had  been  left  a  beautiful 
bark  canoe,  finished  and  decorated  in  the  most  tasteful 
Indian  style,  a  trap  with  one  spring,  a  spear,  and  a 
scalping-knife.  The  lattter  instrument  had  no  doubt 
been  forgotten  in  the  hot  haste  attendant  on  removing 
fur,  eatables,  etc.,  as  so  indispensable  an  article  to  an 
Indian's  full  equipment  for  the  chase  would  not  have 
been  left  intentionally,  unless  it  were  a  duplicate.  The 
articles  found  in  this  camp  became  a  lawful  prize, 
according  to  the  custom  prevailing  at  that  period 
among:  trappers,  predicated  on  the  rule  of  might  and 


130  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

right.  The  Indians'  canoe  at  the  outlet  of  the  lake 
was  constructed  of  spruce  bark,  and  made  near  there, 
but  the  one  at  their  wigwam  wras  of  birch  or  some  very 
light  bark,  and  had  doubtless  been  transported  from 
Canada.  Launching  his  trophied  craft  on  the  bosom 
of  the  sheen  lake,  this  white  forest  son  returned  in  it 
to  his  anxious  companion. 

The  Johnstown  hunters,  reclaiming  all  their  own 
traps  but  one,  after  continuing  their  avocation  a  while 
longer  with  some  success  undisturbed,  indeed 
Sole  monarchs  of  those  crystal  streams, 

set  their  faces  towards  home,  to  relieve  the  solicitude 
of  their  families  and  engage  in  cultivating  the  soil. 

After  another  seed-time  and  harvest  had  gone  by, 
Maj.  Stoner,  accompanied  by  William  Mason,  his 
brother-in-law,  returned  to  the  same  hunting  grounds . 
that  himself  and  Dunn  had  visited  the  preceding 
spring.  Expecting  again  to  renew  the  exciting  avo 
cation  of  a  trapper,  Stoner  concealed  his  traps  in  the 
spring  in  some  safe  place  near  Trout  lake,  after 
greasing  them  thoroughly  to  prevent  injury  by  rust. 
Loaded  with  provisions  and  Mason's  traps,  having 
said  the  necessary  good-byes,  the  trappers  buried  them 
selves  in  the  dark  forest,  the  one  familiar  with  the 
destination  acting  as  pilot, 

"  Their  clock  the  sun  in  his  unbounded  tower." 

The  Johnstown   trappers   struck   the   Sacondaga, 
where,  discovering  signs  of  a  beaver,  they  set  one  of 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  131 

Mason's  traps,  and  with  a  vigilant  look-out  for  other 
evidences  of  the  desired  game,  they  proceeded  on  in 
the  direction  of  Stoner's  traps.  Next  day  Stoner  sent 
Mason  down  several  miles,  to  see  if  the  first  trap  set 
did  not  contain  a  beaver.  He  returned  with  an 
assurance  that  the  trap  was  not  sprung,  and  whether 
it  had  been  or  not  he  could  not  determine;  but  that 
on  a  log  which  crossed  the  river  near  it,  he  had  noticed 
the  tracks  of  a  bear.  Stonor  thought  it  strange  that 
a  beaver  had  not  sprung  that  trap,  and  still  more  won 
derful  that  a  bear  should  prowl  around  it;  and  the 
morning  after  Mason's  return  they  visited  it  together. 
The  instant  the  practiced  eye  of  the  senior  hunter 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  foot-print  pointed  out  by  his 
partner,  provoked  at  his  stupidity  in  not  determining 
more  readily  what  animal  had  made  it,  he  demanded 
with  a  look  of  surprise,  in  rather  ill  humor  and  possi 
bly  at  the  end  of  an  oath,  if  bears  wore  moccasons  1 
Mason,  who  now  rightly  divined  how  the  tracks  came 
there,  was  almost  as  much  surprised  at  his  dullness  of 
perception  as  his  companion  had  been.  On  examining 
the  trap,  the  discriminating  eye  of  the  master  hunter 
also  discovered  that  it  was  not  in  the  position  in  which 
it  had  been  left  two  days  before,  and  it  was  conjec 
tured  that  a  beaver  had  been  taken  from  it  and  the 
trap  again  set. 

Stoner  now  proposed  to  Mason  that  he  should  re 
main  concealed  and  await  Bruin's  return  to  obtain  an 
interview;  but  the  latter,  who  was  a  very  strong  man, 


132  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

though  timid,  refused  to  remain  alone.  "  Well,"  said 
the  former,  "  then  I  will  lay  near  the  trap  and  see 
what  kind  of  a  bear  comes  to  it."  He  secreted  him 
self,  with  the  young  trapper  in  his  rear,  and  had  been 
there  about  half  an  hour,  when  he  heard  on  the  oppo 
site  side  of  the  stream  the  muffled  and  cautious  tread 
of  the  anticipated  bear.  At  this  most  exciting  mo 
ment  might  have  been  heard  a  noise  in  the  morning 
stillness,  resembling  that  of  one  iron  slipping  suddenly 
against  another.  The  delicate  ear  of  the  -visitant 

CD 

caught  the  sound,  and  listening,  with  head  bent  for 
ward,  surveyed  with  scrutiny  every  surrounding  object. 
All  was  again  silent  as  death,  save  the  murmur  of  the 
rippling  rivulet;  and  reassured  that  he  was  alone,  and 
that  the  click  which  fell  upon  his  acute  organs  was 
made  by  the  leap  of  a  squirrel,  or  some  small  ariima] 
that  had  suddenly  broken  a  dry  twig,  Mason's  bear, 
with  an  eye  oft  scanning  the  direction  of  the  trap 
under  consideration,  stealthily  approached  the  fallen 
tree,  which  served  as  abridge  to  cross  the  limpid  river. 
The  bear,  which,  as  we  have  already  seen,  wore 
moccasons,  was  tall,  very  erect,  with  long,  black, 
straight  hair,  and  was  clad  in  a  smutty  blanket, 
strongly  girdled  at  the  waist.  In  one  of  its  huge  p.aws 
it  carried  a  dangerous  weapon  sometimes  called  a 
tomahawk,  and  beneath  the  bosom  of  the  blanket 
above  the  girdle,  peered  out  the  hairless  tail  and  pos 
sibly  hind  legs  of  a  muskrat.  A  rifle  that  seldom 
required  a  second  poise  at  the  same  object,  was  steadily 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  133 

aimed  at  this  old  bear  from  the  time  of  his  appearance 
until  he  reached  the  centre  of  the  log  over  the  stream, 
when  it  suddenly  exploded,  and  unable  longer  to  re 
tain  an  upright  position,  Bruin  reeled  and  fell  off  with 
a  death-groan,  his  life-blood  crimsoning  the  pure 
waters  of  the  Sacondaga. 

The  traps  of  the  Johnstown  hunters  were  not  again 
disturbed  this  fall,  and  at  the  close  of  the  trapping 
season  they  returned  home  bearing  a  valuable  lot  of 
fur,  among  which  there  was  at  least  ons  muskrat's 
pelt.  The  junior  trapper,  notwithstanding  his  bear 
had  met  with  a  fate  "  which,"  to  use  the  words  of 
his  partner,  "  would  let  the  succotash  out  of  his 
stomach  and  the  eels  in,"  could  not  be  induced  to 
visit  his  traps  alone  in  this  excursion  after  the  second 
day. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

While  Maj.  Stoner  was  living  in  Johnstown,  and 
not  long  after  he  commenced  housekeeping,  a  large 
bear  came  into  his  wheat-field,  doing  no  little  mis 
chief.  To  destroy  this  grain  destroyer  he  erected  a 
staging  and  watched  repeatedly  for  him,  but  his  vigi 
lance  was  all  in  vain,  and  the  wheat,  when  ripe,  was 
harvested.  As  the  corn  began  to  fill  in  the  ear.  Bruin 
again  thrust  himself  upon  the  hospitality  of  the  major. 
His  bearship  soon  found,  however,  as  have  some  more 
worthy  though  less  courageous,  that  the  charities  of 
the  world  are  granted  grudgingly  to  strangers.  For 
several  evenings  after  his  first  entrance,  the  husband 
man  vainly  sought  an  interview  with  his  unwelcome 
guest,  with  malice  aforethought  rankling  in  his  breast, 
death  intent  absorbing  all  his  thoughts,  and  a  rifle 
loaded  with  two  balls  resting  in  his  arms. 

At  length,  in  one  of  his  nightly  watchings,  he  heard 
his  dusky  visitant  testing  the  quality  of  the  tender 
ears,  and  although  the  night  was  dark,  he  approached 
sufficiently  near  to  gain  an  indistinct  view  of  him,  and 
instantly  leveled  and  fired.  At  the  report  of  his  rifle, 
agreeably  to  concert,  a  large  watch-dog  confined  in 
the  house  was  let  out  by  Mrs.  Stoner,  and  as  the 
interloper  retreated  from  the  corn,  was  soon  yelling 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  135 

at  his  heels.  He  leaped  a  fence  into  a  field  where  a 
lot  of  flax  had  been  spread,  and  after  pursuing  some 
distance  the  dog  returned  home.  In  the  morning, 
blood  was  observed  on  the  fence  where  the  animal 
had  crossed,  and  it  was  conjectured  that  if  wounded 
he  would  not  return.  Imagine  Stoner's  surprise, 
therefore,  the  very  next  day,  when  a  neighboring 
woman  came  running  to  his  house,  near  which  he 
chanced  to  be  at  work,  to  tell  him  that  the  bear  had 
come  back,  and  was  then  in  their  orchard,  but  a  short 
distance  off. 

Leaving  the  dog  confined  in  his  dwelling,  to  be  let 
out  if  he  fired,  armed  with  his  rifle,  he  ran  to  the 
orchard.  He  was  not  long  in  getting  a  shot,  and  soon 
the  dog  was  at  his  side.  The  bear,  badly  wounded, 
was  overtaken  by  Growler  at  the  roots  of  a  dry  tree, 
and  several  times,  as  the  former  attempted  to  ascend, 
the  latter  pulled  him  back.  Without  leaving  his 
tracks  after  he  fired,  the  sportsman,  as  was  his  cus 
tom,  lodged  another  charge  in  his  rifle.  To  his 
chagrin  he  found  that  the  stopple  to  his  powder-horn 
was  broken  off,  and  he  was  obliged  to  cut  a  hole  in 
the  horn  to  obtain  a  charge  of  powder.  This  occa 
sioned  some  delay  in  loading,  and  by  the  time  he  had 
finished,  his  dog  was  crying  most  piteously.  Not 
pleased  with  being  so  unceremoniously  drawn  back, 
the  bear  turned  upon  his  adversary,  and  succeeded  in 
getting  a  paw  of  the  latter  in  his  mouth. 

A  dag  in  distress  never  fails  to  bring  down  the 


136  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

vengeance  of  its  owner  upon  the  object  causing  it; 
and  hurrying  to  the  tree  where  was  enacting  the  tug 
of  war,  he  thrust  the  muzzle  of  the  piece  into  Bruin's 
mouth  to  pry  open  his  jaws  and  liberate  his  canine 
friend.  Not  altogether  pleased  with  the  interference, 
the  grain  and  apple-eater  struck  a  blow  at  the  intruder 
with  one  of  his  monstrous  paws,  tearing  off  one  leg 
of  his  pantaloons,  and  leaving  the  prints  of  his  nails 
on  the  flesh.  The  end  of  the  gun  being  still  in  the 
animal's  mouth,  he  discharged  it  and  blew  out  his 
brains.  The  yell  of  the  dog  attracted  the  attention 
of  several  neighbors,  and  just  as  Stoner  fired  a  second 
time,  Lieut.  Wallace  and  his  hired  man,  Hulster,  ar 
rived  at  the  scene  of  action,  armed  with  pitchforks. 

The  bear  proved  to  be  very  large,  and  had  one 
white  paw.  On  examining,  to  learn  the  cause,  it  was 
found  that  one  of  the  bullets  fired  at  him  in  the  corn 
field,  had  passed  through  the  centre  of  a  forefoot  while 
in  an  erect  position,  and  the  animal  had  sucked  it 
until  the  inner  part  was  white  as  snow. 

Major  Stoner  was  not  only  a  trapper,  but  in  the 
proper  season  he  indulged  frequently  in  a  deer  or  a 
fox  hunt;  in  which  he  was  generally  successful.  On 
a  certain  occasion  many  years  ago,  accompanied  by 
Benjamin  DeLine  and  Jacob  Frederick,  he  went  to  hunt 
deer  around  the  shores  of  the  Canada  lake,  since  by 
some  called  Fish  lake,  and  by  others  Byrn  lake. 
They  succeeded  in  killing  two  noble  deer,  and  started 
toward  night  to  cross  the  lake  in  the  direction  of 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  137 

home.  Their  water-craft,  a  tree  canoe,  when  they 
were  all  in  with  their  game,  was  loaded  almost  as 
heavily  as  she  could  float ;  and  the  wind  causing  the 
waves  to  roll,  made  the  voyage  a  dangerous  one. 
Stoner  managed  the  canoe,  while  his  companions, 
seated  on  its  bottom,  used  the  utmost  caution  to  pre 
serve  its  equilibrium:  but  long  before  the  little  barque 
neared  her  destined  landing,  she  began  to  dip  water. 
Safety  required  that  his  comrades,  whose  seat  became 
uncomfortable  as  the  water  ran  round  them,  should 
keep  quiet,  while  Stoner  renewed  his  exertions  at  the 
paddle  to  gain  the  opposite  shore.  As  it  became  doubt 
ful  "whether  the  destined  haven  could  be  gained,  Stoner 
steered  for  the  nearest  land,  which  proved  to  be  a  pro 
jecting  point  of  a  small  rocky  island,  which,  in  the 
absence  of  a  better  name,  I  shall  call  Stoner's  island. 
The  farther  they  sailed,  the  more  the  gale  increased, 
and  as  wrave  after  wave  left  a  portion  of  its  crest  in 
the  overloaded  canoe;  the  situation  of  its  inmates  be 
came  one  of  the  greatest  peril.  DeLine  and  Frederick, 
substituting  their  hats  for  basins,  used  their  utmost 
exertions  to  keep  the  boat  afloat  by  bailing,  wrhile 
Stoner,  urging  upon  his  friends  the  necessity  of  cool 
ness  and  a  uniform  position,  sent  her  forward  rapidly. 
Still  several  rods  from  the  land,  and  already  up  to  his 
knees  in  water,  as  the  canoe  was  nearly  full;  DeLine 
sprang  out  and  found  bottom,  although  the  water  was 
several  feet  deep.  Fearing  that  if  their  craft  found 
ered  they  would  lose  their  guns  and  game,  and  ob- 
12* 


138  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

serving  that  DeLine  got  on  so  well,  Frederick  also 
jumped  into  the  lake;  but  a  little  distance  made  quite 
a  difference  in  the  depth  of  water,  for  he  found  no 
bottom.  He  was  unable  to  swim,  and  seeing  him 
sinking  below  the  surface,  Stoner  leaped  out  to  his 
rescue.  His  hair  fortunately  was  clone  up  in  a  cue, 
wound  with  an  eel-skin,  and  at  this  his  deliverer  made 
a  successful  grab  and  swam  to  the  shore.  All  having 
gained  the  land,  the  canoe,  which  had  been  guided 
along  by  DeLine,  was  drawn  up  on  the  beach,  its 
valuables  removed  to  a  place  of  safety,  and  itS  water 
emptied  out.  Frederick,  whose  powers  of  suction  had 
gained  him  one  swell  too  much,  soon  disgorged  the 
contents  of  his  stomach;  and  when  he  could  again 
speak,  he  broke  out  with  an  oath  in  imperfect  English, 
"  /  cross  de  ocean  all  safe  from  Sharmany,  and  O, 
musht  1  pe  troum  in  dish  tarn  vrog-pont ."' 

Stoner's  island,  although  preferable  to  the  bottom 
of  the  lake,  was  far  from  affording  the  weary  hunters 
a  very  comfortable  night's  rest.  It  had  indeed  some 
trees  and  wild-wood  vines,  but  nothing  like  a  human 
habitation;  still,  as  the  gale  continued  with  unabated 
violence,  and  it  was  now  almost  night,  it  was  out  of 
the  question  to  think  of  proceeding  farther  that  eve 
ning:  they  therefore  set  about  making  themselves  as 
comfortable  as  circumstances  would  permit.  As  not 
only  their  guns  and  ammunition  were  wet,  but  their 
materials  for  kindling  a  torch,  they  were  obliged  to 
camp  down  with  their  clothes  saturated  and  their 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  139 

bodies  shivering,  without  one  blazing  faggot  to  dry 
their  garments  or  cheer  the  midnight  hour. 

The  Sun  once  more  came  peering  o'er  the  Earth, 
sending  his  light  in  golden  streams  through  the  pri 
mitive  forest  which  covered  the  surrounding  hills,  to 
reflect  their  mellowed  rays  on  the  glassy  waters  of 
Lake  Byrn;  in  the  bosom  of  which  Stoner's  island 
lay  reposing,  as  calmly  and  as  quietly  as  an  infant 
nestled  to  sleep  in  its  mother's  arms.  The  deer-hunters 
rose  betimes,  and  although  their  study  of  cause  and 
effect,  as  we  may  suppose,  had  been  somewhat  limited, 
still  the  contrast  of  nature's  dramatic  scenes  since  the 
previous  evening  had  been  so  great,  that  they  could 
not  fail  to  mark  the  change,  and  look  with  an  ad 
miring  eye  on  the  rich  and  varied  scene  Heaven  had 
spread  before  them.  Once  more  embarked  with  their 
treasures,  they  gained  the  lake  shore  in  safety,  and 
proceeded  home  without  further  adventure.  For  the 
kind  services  rendered  him  at  the  lake,  said  Frederick, 
on  his  arriving  at  his  own  dwelling,  "  Now,  Nick, 
schurst  so  long  ash,  I  has  von  cent  in  de  vorld,  so  long 
you  shall  never  wants  for  any  ting,  for  bulling  me  out 
from  dat  tarn  vrog-pont  niit'mine  eel-shkin  dail." 

For  saving  his  life  in  the  manner  here  related,  this 
worthy  German  proved  the  sincere  and  grateful  friend 
of  our  hero  to  the  hour  of  his  death,  just  before  which 
event  he  urged  upon  his  childien  as  a  debt  due  to. 
himself,  that  they  should  never  see  his  lake  savior 
want  the  comforts  of  life.  It  is  gratifying  to  observe 


140  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK*. 

that  the  Fredericks  (a  very  respectable  name  in  Ful 
ton  county)  have  honored  their  father,  even  in  death, 
by  remaining  the  warm  friends  of  the  old  trapper, 
their  father's  friend;  having  ever  held  themselves  re 
sponsible  for  the  proper  fulfilment,  if  needs  be,  of  their 
parent's  unostentatious  wish. 

On  the  eve  of  our  last  war  with  Great  Britain, 
Major  Stoner  and  William  Mason  entered  the  wilder 
ness  with  their  traps,  and  were  gone  over  two  months. 
Their  stay  was  protracted  several  weeks  beyond  the 
time  intended,  and  their  anxious  friends,  who  had  heard 
nothing  from  them,  began  to  consider  them  as  lost 
forever. 

Hunters  usually  carried  fishing  tackle,  and  although 
they  often  had  to  do  without  bread  in  long  hunts,  they 
could  generally  procure  a  supply  of  fish  or  wild  game. 
Their  food  frequently  consisted  of  either  deer's  or 
bear's  meat,  and  not  unfrequently  of  squirrels,  rabbits, 
ducks,  partridges,  and  possibly  the  flesh  of  beaver. 
Meats  were  usually  roasted  before  the  fire  on  a  spit  of 
wood,  one  end  of  which  was  planted  in  the  ground. 

If  the  reader  will  just  peep  in  at  the  entrance  of  a 
well  regulated  hunter's  camp,  he  will  see  at  a  glance 
how  the  disciples  of  Nimrod  live  in  their  wilderness, 
womenless  home.  He  will  observe  that  excitement 
renders  them  not  only  contented  but  comparatively 
happy,  in  a  little  hut,  destitute  of  a  chair,  table,  or 
bed.  Should  the  visiter  accept  an  invitation  to  step 
in  and  dine,  he  may  expect  to  receive  a  liberal  slice 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK  141 

of  meat,  scorched  upon  one  side  and  nearly  raw  on 
the  other,  with  a  reasonable  allowance  of  salt  and  a 
morsel  of  stale  bread,  if  not  too  late  in  the  hunt,  served 
with  a  hearty  welcome  upon  the  inner  side  of  a  clean 
piece  of  bark;  while  he  is  seated  upon  a  large  stone, 
or  block  of  wood.  If  he  tarried  over  night,  for  an 
evening's  entertainment,  he  would  listen  to  not  a  few 
perilous  adventures  in  unexpected  encounters  with 
wild  animals,  or  novelties  attending  the  chase;  and 
at  early  bed-time,  he  would  find  himself  stretched  upon 
a  hurdle  of  hemlock  boughs  in  one  corner  of  the  lodge, 
gathering  himself  into  as  small  a  heap  as  possible; 
with  a  secret  prayer  that  no  hungry  wolf  would  thrust 
its  nose  beneath  the  blanket  or  pelt  that  covered  him, 
while  midnight  visions  of  squaws  and  beaver-skins 
haunted  his  brain. 

Out  of  provisions  and  almost  out  of  their  reckoning, 
Stoner  and  his  friend,  having  hung  up  their  fur  in  some 
safe  place  which  they  could  again  find,  were  making 
their  way  to  one  of  the  nearest  white  settlements,  when 
suddenly  they  came  upon  an  Indian  in  the  forest,  whom 
the  major  mistaking  for  some  other  animal,  possibly  a 
bear,  was  about  to  fire  upon.  The  Indian,  whose  name 
was  Anderly,  proved  to  be  one  of  the  Caughnawaga 
tribe,  from  Grand  river  in  Canada.  He  had  with  him 
a  little  daughter,  his  wife  having  died  in  the  forest. 
The  sudden  appearance  of  two  white  men  greatly  ter 
rified  this  little  forest  flower;  but  her  fears  were  quieted 
with  an  assurance  of  friendship,  and  the  white  hunters 


142  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

shared  the  hospitality  of  their  dusky  friends  over  night. 
This  Indian  first  communicated  to  the  Johnstown 
trappers  the  fact,  that  hostilities  had  commenced  be 
tween  England  and  the  United  States.  Knowing  this 
fact,  and  thinking  that  possibly  the  whites  were  either 
spies  or  foes,  was  what -at  first  caused  the  fear  of  the 
young  wood-nymph.  Parting  with  their  new  friends, 
with  whom  they  were  much  pleased,  Stoner  and  Ma 
son  journeyed  on,  and  finally  came  out  in  Norway, 
Herkimer  county;  where  they  obtained  provisions, 
and  where  too,  they  saw  several  families  that  were 
removing  from  the  Black  river  country  to  the  Mohawk 
valley.  They  also  came  in  contact  with  a  body  of 
United  States  drafts  marching  to  the  line  between  New 
York  and  Canada. 

Trappers  in  their  excursions  seldom  take  shaving 
utensils  with  them,  and  not  unfrequently  on  their  re 
turn  home,  they  might  have  been  mistaken  for  the 
prototype  of  Lorenzo  Dow,  of  long-beard  memory. 
The  Johnstown  friends  had  wandered  so  long  in  the 
forest,  that  their  clothes  were  much  worn ;  and  Mason, 
whose  appearance  was  perhaps  the  most  ragged,  was 
arrested  on  suspicion  of  being  a  spy,  and  his  gun  taken 
from  him.  Stoner  having  been  a  hero  of  the  preceding 
war,  was  fortunately  known  to  some  of  the  soldiery, 
and  succeeded  in  effecting  the  liberation  of  his  com 
rade  and  the  restoration  of  his  gun ;  and  after  liberally 
replenishing  their  larder,  they  again  buried  themselves 
in  the  moaning  wilderness.  In  this  hunt,  Stoner  car- 


TRAPPETvS  OF  NEW  YORK.  143 

ried  his  rifle  and  Mason  a  fowling-gun  with  which  to 
shoot  small  game  for  food.  On  their  way  back  to  the 
place  where  they  had  secreted  their  fur,  and  when  in 
a  gloomy,  mountain-encompassed  dell,  they  accident 
ally  fell  in  with  two  Indians,  who  were  there  on  the 
same  errand  as  themselves.  It  seems  to  be  a  pretty 
true,  though  stale  maxim,  that  two  of  a  trade  can  not 
agree.  The  strangers  were  Canadian  hunters,  having 
very  little  fur,  one  of  whom  was  armed  with  a  rifle. 
Scarcely  had  the  parties  met,  when  the  one  last  alluded 
to  commenced  a  fierce  quarrel  with  Stoner.  He  took 
the  latter  for  Green  White,  another  bold  trapper,  and 
accused  him  of  plundering  and  then  burning  their 
camp  some  two  years  before.  Stoner,  enraged  at  the 
false  charge,  retorting  the  harsh  epithets  of  his  accuser, 
denied  being  White;  or  having  stolen  the  fur  of  any 
one.  The  other  Indian,  who  said  he  had  seen  White, 
told  his  companion  that  he  was  not  the  hunter  before 
them,  but  this  the  passionate  savage  would  not  admit, 
and  the  dispute  continued. 

Observing  that  his  partner  would  not  be  appeased, 
and  that  the  quarrel  must  prove  a  serious  one,  the  In 
dian  without  a  rifle  approached  Mason,  who,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  a  little  timorous  in  such  an  emergency, 
and  desired  to  look  at  his  gun.  His  object  undoubt 
edly  was  to  arm  himself.  This  seemingly  small  favor 
would  possibly  have  been  indulged,  had  not  a  caution 
from  Stoner,  in  the  Low  Dutch  tongue,  reached  his 
friend,  to  beware  of  a  treacherous  design.  The  master- 


144  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

hunter  could  not  only  understand,  but  spoke  the  Indian 
dialect  very  well.  Determined  to  possess  himself  of 
Mason's  gun,  his  antagonist  grappled  with  him  to 
wrest  it  from  his  hands*,  A  shrill  rifle-shot  now  rang 
among  the  towering  hemlocks,  followed  by  a  yell  so 
loud  and  death-like,  as  to  startle  the  wolf  and  panther 
in  their  mountain  lair.  A  moment  after  and  the  figure 
of  an  Indian  was  seen  receding  in  the  forest  with  the 
fleetness  of  an  antelope,  and  the  click  of  a  gun-lock 
fell  on  the  ear;  but  its  priming  having  been  lost  in 
his  scuffle  with  Mason,  it  missed  fire,  and  the  dark  form 
vanished  in  safety  and  alone. 

After  this  adventure,  the  Johnstown  trappers  pur 
sued  their  way,  without  further  molestation,  to  their  fur 
and  their  traps,  and  ere  long  they  returned  home,  to 
the  great  joy  of  their  friends ;  bearing  a  most  valuable 
lot  of  fur,  and  a  spare  rifle.  It  is  not  improbable  that 
their  store  of  fur  was  augmented  some  in  that  lone 
spot,  where  they  had  left  a  human  carcass  to  return  to 
its 'earthly  affinity. 

Major  Stoner  was  gone  so  long  that  a  rumor  pre 
judicial  to  his  character  was  put  in  circulation  in 
Johnstown  just  before  his  return.  It  was  reported, 
and  perhaps  by  some  believed,  that  he  had  been  en 
gaged  in  the  contraband  trade  of  smuggling  goods 
from  Canada  to  that  village,  for  Cornelius  Herring 
and  Amaziah  Rust.  He  says  the  accusation  was  false, 
and  although  he  saw  goods  carrying  in  the  wilderness 
at  this  time,  which  may  have  been  destined  for  Johns- 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  145 

town;  they  were  in  the  hands  of  individuals  who  were 
strangers  to  him.  Squaws  generally  started  with  the 
merchandise  from  Canada,  and  at  some  designated 
place  they  met  and  gave  it  over  to  men  employed  to 
run  it  through. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  Green  White,  to  whom  allu 
sion  is  made  in  these  pages,  who  was  a  celebrated 
and  successful  trapper,  traversing  the  wilderness  from 
Otsego  county  to  the  shores  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  had 
numerous  and  sometimes  fatal  quarrels  with  rival 
hunters.  John  G.  Seely  informed  the  writer  that  he 
once  playfully,  though  ironically,  remarked  to  White, 
"  he  did  not  like  it  that  he  was  killing  off  all  his  na- 
tion."  The  hunter  replied,  "  D — n  them,  they  must 
not  search  my  traps  then.  The  last  one  I  saw  was 
peeking  over  the  bushes  to  look  into  one  of  my  traps,  and 
soon  after  my  dog  was  shaking  his  old  blanket  /"  Some 
further  account  of  this  hunter,  with  his  melancholy 
fate,  is  given  in  another  part  of  this  volume. 


13 


CHAPTER  X. 

White  hunters  as  well  as  Indians  wore  moccasons 
on  their  long  hunts;  usually  making  their  own  from 
the  pelts  of  wild  animals.  Aaron  Griswold  hunted 
with  Maj.  Stoner  on  one  occasion,  and  having  killed 
a  bear,  as  his  boots  chafed  his  ancles,  he  w#s  not  long 
in  making  himself  moccasons  from  the  raw  hide, 
with  the  fur  inside;  and  hanging  up  his  boots  in  some 
secure  place,  they  journeyed  on  some  fifteen  miles. 
Stoner  had  a  favorite  dog  with  him  at  the  time,  and 
in  the  night  the  animal  ate  up  one  of  the  newly  made 
moccasons.  Griswold  was  very  angry  next  morning, 
and  swore  he  would  shoot  the  dog;  but  Stoner  ap 
peased  his  wrath  by  cutting  the  needed  garment  from 
his  own  blanket,  which  lasted  until  the  return  of 
Griswold  to  his  boots;  about  which  time  the  major 
shot  a  deer,  and  the  breach  in  his  companion's  ward 
robe  was  repaired  from  its  skin. 

Maj.  Stoner  was  on  a  deer-hunt  many  years  ago  to 
the  Sacondaga  vlaie,  in  company  with  Captain  Henry 
Shew.  At  a  suitable  place  to  camp  out,  he  collected 
some  dry  wood  and  struck  up  a  fire  for  their  comfort, 
his  companion  in  the  meanwhile,  visiting  a  favorite 
crossing  place  of  the  deer.  Having  started  his  fire, 
he  crossed  the  low  ground  to  the  bank  of  the  creek 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  147 

which  courses  through  it.  He  had  scarcely  reached 
the  stream,  when  he  saw  the  tall  grass  covering  the 
bog  on  the  opposite  shore  bending  towards  him.  He 
at  once  recognized  in  the  undulatory  motion  of  the 
grass,  the  probable  presence  of  some  wild  animal; 
which  he  thought  hardly  lofty  enough  in  its  carriage 
for  a  deer.  He  remained  quiet,  and  soon  the  object 
made  its  appearance  near  the  creek.  At  first  sight 
he  thought  it  a  hunter's  dog,  but  its  wild  appearance 
undeceived  him,  and  he  shot  it.  This  was  near  night, 
and  the  following  morning  they  made  a  raft  of  drift 
wood,  on  which  Capt.  Shew  crossed  the  stream  to  see 
what  Stoner  had  killed.  It  proved  to  be  a  large  she 
wolf,  and  a  young  cub  which  had  just  been  trying  to 
obtain  nourishment  from  it,  fled  on  the  hunter's  ap 
proach,  (as  he  had  not  taken  his  gun  along,)  and  se 
creted  its  famishing  form  in  the  rank  grass.  Shew 
skinned  the  wolf,  and  Judge  Simon  Veeder  paid  them 
twenty  shillings,  the  then  legal  bounty,  for  its  scalp. 

Maj.  Stoner  shot  but  one  other  wolf  while  hunting, 
although  he  trapped  them  often.  He  never  killed  a 
panther,  as  none  were  so  reckless  of  life  as  to  cross 
his  path;  but  he  very  often  heard  their  startling 
scream  from  their  mountain  haunts.  He  killed  no 
less  than  seventeen  bears  in  two  seasons. 

The  celebrated  Nathaniel  Foster  and  Maj.  Stoner 
were  hunting  together  one  fall,  when  they  trapped  a 
large  eagle.  They  set  the  trap  beside  the  carcase 
of  a  deer  the  wolves  had  killed  on  the  ice  upon 


148  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Round  lake;  and  the  national  bird,  as  a  reward  for  the 
low  company  it  kept,  was  caught  in  a  wolf-trap,  and 
flew  off  with  it ;  a  heavy  clog  being  attached  to  its 
chain.  The  following  spring  one  Barrington  visited 
the  place  with  Stoner,  and  in  searching  they  found 
the  trap  in  the  bush  beside  the  lake,  where  the  clog 
had  become  entangled,  else  the  majestic  bird  would 
possibly  have  soared  away  to  its  eyry  with  its  vast 
load.  It  was  dead  when  discovered,  and  the  trap, 
which  was  Foster's,  was  restored  to  him. 

During  the  time  he  was  a  hunter,  a  period  of  forty 
or  fifty  years,  Maj.  Stoner  hunted  with  very  many  in 
dividuals;  among  whom  were  several  Indians.  He 
was  out  some  time  with  a  man  named  Flagg,  of 
whom  we  can  say  nothing,  except  that  he  wore  a  cu 
rious  cap,  made  from  the  skin  of  a  loon  with  its 
downy  coat  on.  He  hunted  one  season  with  a  St. 
Regis  Indian,  named  Powlus,  and  his  acquaintances 
wondered  that  he  dared  to  do  it.  With  this  Indian 
he  explored  the  head  waters  of  Grass  river,  which 
empties  into  the  St.  Lawrence.  At  this  place  they 
met  with  a  small  area  of  land  with  a  fine  growth  of 
hickory  and  oak  timber.  Persons  going  from  Canada 
to  Johnstown  in  the  summer  season,  either  had  to  go 
by  way  of  the  Sacondaga  river,  or  else  far  to  the  west 
of  it,  on  account  of  a  large  territory  of  drowned  lands 
in  the  vicinity  of  Grass  river.  The  latter  district  was 
traversed  with  ease  in  the  winter,  however,  by  hunt 
ers  on  snow  shoes,  when  the  low  lands  were  frozen. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  149 

Near  the  head  of  Grass  river,  the  Johnstown  trappers 
met  a  French  Canadian  hunter,  who  had  a  squaw  for 
a  wife.  He  was  desirous  of  going  as  far  south  as 
Johnstown,  and  Stoner  traced  a  map  of  the  most  feasi 
ble  route  for  him,  upon  a  piece  of  birch  bark,  to  en 
able  him  to  accomplish  the  journey.  Whether  he 
ever  reached  the  designated  point  is  not  known. 

Subsequent  to  Maj.  Stoner's  hunting  with  Mason, 
Dunn,  and  Jackson,  who  were  most  frequently  his 
companions;  he  hunted  two  seasons  with  another  St. 
Regis  Indian,  called  Capt.  Gill;  with  whom  he  was 
very  successful.  They  caught  twenty-six  beavers  and 
five  otters,  beside  considerable  other  game,  in  one 
spring.  Beaver  usually  sold  for  about  one  dollar  a 
pound ;  and  good  skins  would  weigh  about  four  pounds 
each.  Otter  skins  sold  from  five  to  seven  dollars  the 
pelt.  Stoner  has  received  one  hundred  dollars  for 
peltries  taken  in  a  single  season. 

Gill  had  his  squaw  Molly  with  him  while  hunting, 
and  a  daughter,  or  a  Molly  junior,  who,  the  Indian  said, 
was  not  his  papoose.  Indian  women  usually  remained 
at  the  camp,  and  did  the  cooking  for  the  hunters. 
Beavers  generally  built  their  dams  across  the  outlets 
of  the  lakes.  Gill  was  very  successful  in  spearing 
those  sagacious  animals  in  their  houses.  While  to 
gether,  they  once  trapped  no  less  than  four  beavers  in 
a  single  night.  This  Indian  was  a  catholic,  and  in 
a  thunder  shower  would  cross  himself  repeatedly.  He 

was  in  the  English  service  in  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
13* 


150  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

tion,  and  was  present  at  the  destruction  of  Stone 
Arabia;  but  in  the  last  war  he  took  protection  under 
the  authorities  of  New  York.  He  entertained  no  lit 
tle  fear,  and  possibly  harbored  not  much  love  for  his 
fellow  countrymen;  and  on  an  emergency,  would  per 
haps  have  scrupled  as  little  as  did  his  fearless  com 
panion,  to  punish  their  aggressions. 

Eben  Blakeman,  who  several  times  hunted  with  our 
hero,  was  once  on  a  hunt  when  the  Indians  disturbed 
his  traps;  but  being  joined  by  Stoner,  they  left  the 
hunting  grounds  sans  ceremonie.  Obadiah  Wilkins, 
another  lover  of  the  chase,  was  more  than  once  asso 
ciated  with  Major  Stoner  in  trapping  excursions. 
Their  wives  were  cousins.  On  one  occasion  when 
they  were  hunting  in  Bleeker,  Wilkins,  to  replenish 
their  larder,  took  fishing  tackle  and  seated  himself  on 
a  rock  in  West  Stoney  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Sa- 
condaga.  He  had  barely  gained  the  position,  when 
a  stout  Indian  came  to  him  and  inquired  rather  insult 
ingly,  "  What  doing  here  ?"  He  replied,  "  I  am  fish 
ing."  * "  Have  got  gun  ?"  interrogated  the  visitor. 
"Yes,  at  the  camp,"  said  Wilkins,  a  little  disconcert 
ed  at  the  fierce  manner  of  his  inquirer.  Observing 
the  advantage  he  had  gained,  the  red  hunter  continued, 
"  This  Indian's  hunting  ground — Yankees  no  business 
here  —you  must  leave  him  /"  As  Wrilkins  made  but 
little  reply  to  the  last  remark,  the  speaker  continued, 
"  Has  white  man  got  partner  ?"  "  Yes,  at  the  camp." 
«  What  his  name  ?"  "  Nick  Stoner." 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  151 

Had  the  witch  of  Endor  risen  before  him,  the 
forest-son  would  not  have  been  more  disagreeably 
taken  a-back,  and  he  gave  a  loud  guttural  "  Umph!  " 
Observing  the  magic  wrought  by  the  utterance  of  a 
single  name,  Wilkins  became  reassured,  and  invited 
the  blanketed  hunter  to  go  with  him  to  the  camp. 
"  JVb/  Indian  go  to  his  own  camp  !"  he  responded, 
and  soon  after  disappeared  in  the  wilderness.  This 
Indian  had  frightened  a  hunter,  named  Wheeler,  from 
these  grounds  not  long  before;  but  when  he  heard 
that  Stoner  was  in  the  neighborhood,  the  air  seemed 
to  oppress  his  lungs;  and  hastily  collecting  his  traps, 
he  broke  up  his  camp  and  sought  afar  off  a  new  forest- 
home.  The  reason  assigned  by  Wilkins  to  his  part 
ner  for  being  disconcerted  at  the  interrogatories  of 
this  savage  hunter  was,  that  the  latter  was  armed  with 
a  hatchet,  and  himself  only  with  a  fishing-rod. 

The  last  difficulty  Stoner  had  with  the  Indians  while 
trapping,  occurred  at  Lake  Pleasant.  Dunning,  who 
then  lived  at  the  Ox-Bow,  four  miles  from  Lake 
Pleasant,  had  left  his  traps  in  the  wilderness  where  he 
had  previously  hunted,  and  was  afraid  to  go  after  them 
alone  at  the  return  of  the  hunting  season.  Obadiah 
Wilkins  left  home  with  Stoner  on  this  enterprise,  and 
leaving  him  to  hunt  with  Dunning's  father  nearer 
home,  Stoner  and  Dunning  set  out  to  find  and  use  the 
hidden  traps.  Before  reaching  them,  and  about  thirty 
miles  from  the  settlement,  Stoner  set  two  of  his  own 
traps  for  beaver,  one  in  the  stream  and  the  other  on 


152  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

the  shore  of  a  small  lake;  a  little  distance  further  he 
set  another  trap  for  an  otter.  Arriving  at  a  pond 
which  lay  in  their  route,  not  far  from  where  the  last 
trap  was  set,  they  found  a  large  moose  in  it  fighting 
flies,  which  Stoner,  with  some  twinges  of  conscience, 
drew  up  and  shot.  They  skinned  it  and  sunk  the  hide 
beneath  the  water,  to  get  the  hair  off;  and  two  musk- 
rat  skins  they  had  already  secured  they  hung  up  in 
the  vicinity.  Not  more  than  one-fourth  of  a  mile  far 
ther  on,  they  came  to  a  deserted  camp,  with  the 
appearance  of  having  been  recently  occupied.  Much 
wearied  and  the  day  far  spent,  they  tarried  over  night 
at  this  hunter's  lodge. 

On  the  following  morning,  as  the  distance  was  not 
very  great,  Dunning  went  back  to  the  place  where 
the  nearest  trap  was  set,  but  could  not  find  it;  and 
before  renewing  the  journey  for  his  traps,  they  returned 
together,  if  possible  to  learn  the  fate  of  the  one,  and 
recover  the  other  two  traps.  The  trap  set  for  an  otter 
was  indeed  clear  gone,  and  about  it  were  Indians' 
tracks,  but  the  other  two  were  safe.  In  the  one  left 
in  the  creek  a  beaver  had  been  caught  that  proved 
wise  enough  to  gnaw  its  own  leg  off,  and  escape  by 
leaving  its  foot  in  the  trap;  and  in  the  other  they 
found  an  otter. 

While  on  their  way  to  obtain  their  traps,  they  heard 
the  report  of  a  gun  fired  in  the  distance,  which  they 
thought  might  possibly  tell  what  direction  the  lost 
property  had  taken.  Recovering  Dunning's  traps, 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  153 

they  now  went  to  another  stream  to  hunt,  where  they 
had  some  success.  Visiting  their  haunts  one  day,  they 
found  one  trap  had  been  robbed  of  its  game;  and  as 
it  was  a  very  heavy  one,  the  robber  not  caring  to  take 
it  along  had  left  it  suspended  by  the  jaws  upon  a 
stump.  On  their  route  home,  the  hunters  halted  where 
the  moose  had  been  slain;  and  here  they  found  fresh 
evidence  of  intrusion  upon  their  rights.  Well  was  it 
for  the  evil  doer  that  he  had  not  lingered  there,  else 
he  might  have  been  mistaken  for  another  of  Mason's 
bears.  The  moose-skin  had  been  pulled  up  and  some 
of  it  cut  off,  and  the  muskrat-skins  had  found  a  new 
owner. 

Arriving  at  Dunning's  Saturday  afternoon,  they 
learned  that  two  Indian  trappers  had  just  come  in  at 
the  lake  settlement,  four  miles  distant,  with  fur;  at 
which  place  there  was  a  tavern,  a  small  grocery, 
store,  &c.  Capt.  Wright  kept  the  tavern,  and  one 
Williams  the  grocery;  the  latter  dealing  principally 
in  such  articles  as  ammunition,  blankets,  rum,  &c.,  to 
sell  to  trappers  and  adventurers.  Stoner  wished  to 
visit  Lake  Pleasant  to  see  whether  the  hunters  had 
not  got  his  lost  trap  and  stolen  fur;  but  Wilkins  de 
clined  going  with  him,  and  the  younger  Dunning 
became  his  companion. 

On  their  arrival  at  Wright's  they  learned  that  the 
Indian  hunters  were  Capt.  Benedict  and  Francis,  a 
large  yellow-skin,  and  that  they  were  encamped  in 
the  woods  about  one  hundred  yards  from  the  inn.  As 


154  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

it  was  nearly  dark,  they  concluded  to  defer  a  visit  to 
their  place  of  rest  until  morning.  Some  time  in  the 
night,  a  sister's  son  of  Wright  awoke  his  uncle  to 
inform  him  that  the  dogs  of  the  Indian  hunters  were 
killing  their  sheep.  Stoner  got  up  and  accompanied 
the  young  man  to  the  field  to  drive  the  dogs  from  the 
sheep,  one  of  which  they  had  already  slain.  In  the 
morning  Stoner  visited  the  Indians  at  their  fire  in  the 
woods.  Near  it  lay  the  dogs,  and  at  hand  were  two 
rifles,  a  basket  of  potatoes,  and  a  piece  of  pork.  The 
rifles  were  resting  one  on  each  side  of  the  basket,  while 
between  his  knees  Francis  held  a  jug  of  whiskey,  over 
which  he  was  singing  a  huntsman's  chorus. 

Capt.  Benedict,  who  was  a  pretty  likely  Indian, 
was  well  known  to  Maj.  Stoner,  and  as  the  latter  ap 
proached,  told  his  companion  who  he  was.  In  the 
group  lay  a  bundle  of  traps  tied  together  with  thongs 
of  Stoner's  moose-hide,  and  conspicuously  among  them 
appeared  his  lost  trap.  It  was  known  the  previous 
evening  in  the  neighborhood  what  the  object  was  of 
Stoner's  visit  to  the  lakes,  and  when  he  went  to  the 
hunter's  lodge  early  in  the  morning,  Wright,  Wil 
liams,  one  Peck,  and  perhaps  others  who  may  have 
taken  a  nap  the  less  to  enable  them  to,  stole  up 
behind  trees  as  near  as  they  could  without  being  ob 
served,  on  purpose,  as  they  afterwards  said,  to  witness 
the  fun  they  anticipated  wrould  follow  the  interview. 

After  friendly  salutations  had  passed  between  Stoner 
and  Benedict,  the  former  walked  to  the  traps  and 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  155 

jerked  his  up  from  the  rest,  enquiring  sharply  how  it 
came  there?  He  would  have  recognized  the  trap 
umong  a  thousand  others  :  it  was  made  by  William 
Mann,  of  Johnstown,  and  had  on  it  Stoner's  private 
hunter's  mark.  When  blacksmiths  made  traps  for 
hunters,  they  generally  put  some  peculiar  mark  on 
them  their  own  fancy  suggested,  never  placing  the 
same  device  upon  the  traps  of  different  hunters.  Seeing 
Stoner  about  to  cut  it  loose,  Francis  exclaimed,  "JVb 
cut  him!  No  cut  him!"  extending  his  hand  to  pre 
vent  the  act,  at  which  interference  the  claimant 
raised  the  whole  bundle  and  knocked  the  intruder 
down  with  it.  Regaining  his  feet  and  seeing  the 
trap  already  in  the  possession  of  its  owner,  the  con 
science-stricken  trapper  said  gruffly,  "  If  trap  yours, 
take  him!" 

Pay  was  next  demanded  for  the  lost  fur,  and  epi 
thets  were  bandied  between  Stoner  and  Francis, 
of  which  passion  was  the  parent.  Benedict,  who  was 
evidently  ashamed  of  his  company,  now  interfered, 
and  to  some  extent  pacified  his  old  acquaintance,  who 
accepted  the  jug  of  friendship,  and  drank  of  its  sup 
posed  healing  and  cooling,  though  very  fiery  waters. 
As  readily  would  oil  put  out  a  flame,  as  alcohol  have 
quieted  the  storm  of  human  passion.  After  a  little 
further  conversation  with  Benedict,  not  wishing  to  be 
outdone  in  generosity,  Stoner  asked  the  Indians  to  go 
to  the  tavern  and  drink  with  him.  The  invitation 
was  readily  accepted,  and  Francis,  as  the  partner  of 


156  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Benedict,  went  along,  although  at  first  he  pretended 
he  would  not  go. 

The  two  friends  before  the  bar  soon  held  each  a 
tumbler  of  liquid  fire,  and  Stoner  asked  Francis  to 
pour  out  and  drink  with  them.  He  declined  in  a  very 
insolent  manner,  whereupon  the  former  smashed  the 
tumbler  he  held,  liquor  and  all,  against  his  head.  The 
Indian,  as  soon  as  he  could  regain  a  standing  posi 
tion,  enraged  at  the  act,  closed  with  his  adversary, 
and  in  the  short  scuffle  which  followed,  the  latter 
proved  too  smart  for  his  yellow  antagonist,  and  pitched 
him  neck  and  heels  out  of  the  bar-room  door  upon 
the  ground.  He  had  a  hard  fall,  and  when  he  rose 
up  several  gravel  stones  remained  half  buried  in  his 
cheek  and  temples.  The  fight  would  no  doubt  have 
become  a  deadly  one,  had  it  not  been  arrested  at  this 
point  by  the  by-standers,  who  held  the  parties  asunder 
until  their  ardor  and  passion  had  a  little  time  to  cool 
down. 

When  reason  began  to  assume  her  throne,  Stoner 
demanded  of  Francis  either  the  furs  stolen  from  his 
traps  or  the  money  for  them.  The  parties  now  went 
to  Williams's  store,  where  they  found  the  green  bea 
ver-skin  stolen  from  the  heavy  trap,  which  the  Indian 
had  there  sold  the  previous  afternoon.  He  finally 
admitted  having  taken  that  skin  from  the  trap  men 
tioned,  but  denied  having  taken  the  two  muskrat 
pelts,  although  several  were  among  the  fur  he  had 
sold  Williams,  saying  that  probably  some  young 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  157 

Indians  who  were  then  hunting  in  the  woods  had 
taken  them.  A  compromise  was  now  made,  and 
Francis  paid  Stoner  a  certain  sum  to  settle  their  diffi 
culties,  a  receipt  for  which  was  drawn  up  by  Williams, 
as  dictated  by  Stoner.  About  this  time  the  young  In 
dians  referred  to,  five  in  number,  came  in.  They  had 
several  marten-skins,  but  more  fully  to  establish  the 
guilt  of  the  accused  they  had  not  the  pelt  of  a  single 
muskrat.  One  of  the  boys,  a  likely  young  Indian, 
who  answered  to  the  name  of  Lige  Ell,  and  who  Vi&s 
a  son  of  Benedict,  when  told  that  he  had  been  accused 
by  Francis  of  having  taken  Stoner's  fur,  seemed  highly 
offended  by  the  insult.  The  truth  was>  the  traps  of 
Francis  being  fastened  together  by  strips  of  the  moose- 
skin,  near  which  the  lost  pelts  had  been  left,  if  it  did 
not  prove  his  guilt,  was  at  least  strong  evidence 
against  him. 

Lige  Ell  went  to  the  store  to  buy  a  pocket-knife, 
but  did  not  like  any  there.  He  said  of  all  Williams 
had,  "  there  wasn't  no  more  fire  in  'em  than  there  was 
in  his  nose."  Hunters  -wanted  a  heavy  knife,  with 
which  they  could  not  only  skin  large  game,  but  one, 
the  back  of  which  would  elicit  from  flint  the  spark  of 
comfort  in  the  wilderness.  Stoner  handed  the  lad  his 
own  knife,  with  which  he  seemed  delighted,  and  as 
the  old  trapper  was  rather  partial  to  the  boy,  he  made 
him  a  present  of  it.  The  young  Indian  then,  to  cap 
the  climax  of  his  happiness,  bought  a  quart  of  the 
red  man's  exterminator,  rum,  and  a  cake  of  maple 
14 


158  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

sugar,  got  pretty  drunk,  and  with  his  no  less  tipsj 
companions  went  to  shooting  at  a  mark. 

Here  is  no  doubt  given  a  true  picture  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  Sabbath  is  too  often  kept,  or  rather, 
broken,  on  the  outskirts  of  civilization.  Benedict's 
son  told  Francis,  after  a  knowledge  of  all  that  had 
transpired  between  him  and  "  Old  Stoner,"  with  whom 
by  repute  he  was  no  stranger,  that  if  he  desired  to 
live,  he  must  never  show  his  head  in  that  region  again; 
as,  if  he  did  return,  he  would  certainly  be  killed.  It 
is  believed  he  never  afterwards  intruded  on  the  hunt 
ing  grounds  of  the  Johnstown  trappers;  if  he  did,  he 
certainly  was  cautious  not  to  disturb  either  their  traps 
or  their  furs. 

It  was  customary  some  twenty  years  ago,  in  the 
summer  season,  for  Indian  families  to  come  down  from 
the  north  and  locate  themselves  for  weeks,  and  some 
times  for  months,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Mohawk 
river  settlements  and  make  baskets,  which  they  ex 
changed  at  the  nearest  villages  for  trinkets,  gay 
calicoes,  liquor,  tobacco,  scarlet  cloth,  &c.  Three 
of  a  party  that  had  taken  up  their  residence  one  sum 
mer  to  make  baskets  in  Stoner's  neighborhood,  lodged 
in  his  barn.  The  major  had  a  large  dog  at  the  time, 
and  his  guests  a  small  one.  One  day  when  he  was 
gone  from  home,  his  dog,  not  pleased  with  the  In 
dians'  canine  friend,  which  he  considered  intruding 
upon  his  rights,  took  him  by  the  neck  and  gave  him 
a  hard  shaking.  The  owner  of  the  little  yelper,  armed 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  159 

with  a  knife,  set  out  to  revenge  the  insult  with  the 
death  of  the  offender. 

This  incident  happened  when  Mary  Stoner  was  in 
her  teens,  and  at  the  time,  she  and  her  mother  were 
at  home  alone.  Hearing  an  unusual  noise,  Mary 
opened  the  door,  and  seeing  the  Indian  in  pursuit  of 
their  dog,  she  called  it  into  the  house  and  fastened 
it  in.  Arrested  at  the  door,  he  uttered  numerous 
threats,  and  several  times  stuck  his  knife  into  it,  at 
which  moment  Stoner  approached.  Seeing  an  Indian 
armed  with  a  long  knife,  attempting  to  enter  his 
dwelling,  he  ran  up  and  knocked  him  down,  and  was 
giving  him  a  few  hasty  kicks,  when  the  other  two 
Indians  came  to  the  rescue  of  their  comrade.  Hearing 
her  father's  voice,  Miss  Stoner  looked  out,  and  seeing 
two  Indians  holcfof  him,  she  feared  they  would  kill 
him,  and  hastened  to  place  in  his  hand  a  heavy  fire- 
shovel  for  his  defence.  The  act  proved  the  girl  "  a 
chip  of  the  old  block,"  but  he  told  her  to  carry  back 
the  weapon,  that  the  Indians  would  not  hurt  him. 
They  did  not  seek  his  injury,  but  to  rescue  their  friend. 
The  day  after  this  dog  difficulty  the  Indians  in  the 
neighborhood  all  disappeared,  and  one  of  the  party 
who  had  borrowed  a  blanket  of  Stoner  to  go  deer- 
hunting,  forgot  to  return  it. 

Maj.  Stoner  was  a  very  successful  trapper,  and 
frequently  brought  in  such  large  quantities  of  fur  that  . 
many  suspected  he  had  obtained  it  unfairly  from  other 
hunters,  but  such  he  declares  was  never  the  case. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Maj.  Stoner  became  a  widower  when  he  had  been 
married  over  forty  years;  after  which  he  lived  be 
tween  fifteen  and  twenty  years  with  Mrs.  Polly  Phye, 
and  until  her  death.  Her  husband,  Daniel  Phye, 
abandoned  her,  for  what  reason  is  unknown.  He 
died  many  years  ago  at  the  westward. 

After  Phye  had  been  gone  several  years,  and  dark 
mystery  had  drawn  her  curtain  of  uncertainty  around 
his  fate;  gossip  sometimes  made  Mrs.  Phye  a  grass, 
and  at  others,  a  hay-widow.  At  this  period  Maj. 
Stoner  paid  his  addresses  successfully,  to  the  supposed 
widow;  and  although  she  considered  herself  absolved 
from  all  farther  connection  with  Phye;  still,  as  he 
might  be  alive  and  possibly  return,  prudence  prevent 
ed  a  ceremonial  marriage,  which  could  by  law  con 
sign  her  to  the  inner  walls  of  a  prison;  and  they  re 
solved  to  unite  their  stock  in  trade,  and  move  along 
cheerfully  if  they  could,  in  the  great  wake  of  the 
human  family.  Thus  they  did  pass  on  quietly  and 
happily  until  separated  by  death.  They  had  no  chil 
dren  by  this  voluntary  marriage.  Let  the  stickler  for 
a  rigid  adherence  at  all  times  to  established  laws 
without  reference  to  their  operation,  imagine  this 
case  wholly  their  own,  before  they  feel  prepared  to 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  161 

condemn  the  course  of  this  couple,  or  brand  their  con 
duct  with  the  title  of  crime. 

On  the  23d  day  of  April,  1840,  having  been  a 
second  time  a  widower  for  several  years,  Maj.  Stoner 
married  his  present  wife;  who  is  considerably  young 
er  than  himself.  Her  maiden  name  was  Hannah 
Houghtaling,  but  at  the  time  of  their  marriage  she 
was  the  widow  Frank. 

At  the  present  time  (1846),  the  old  trapper  resides 
in  the  town  of  Garoga,  Fulton  county;  at  a  settle 
ment  which  has  recently  sprung  up,  called  Newkirk's 
Mills.  He  owns  a  comfortable  dwelling  in  which  he 
lives,  draws  a  pension  from  the  general  government, 
and  from  keeping  several  boarders,  who  work  in  the 
mills,  which  the  industry  of  a  smart  wife  enables 
him  to  do,  he  passes  down  the  evening  of  his  life 
very  comfortably.  Garret  Newkirk,  the  proprietor 
here,  has  an  extensive  tannery,  and  a  saw-mill  in 
which  two  saws  are  almost  constantly  rending  asun 
der  the  trunks  of  the  surrounding  forest.  The  place 
has  some  fifteen  or  twenty  dwellings,  a  school- 
house,  a  post-office,,  (called  Newkirk's  Mills)  &c., 
and  is  situated  pleasantly  on  the  outlet  of  the  Garoga 
lakes,  two  crystal  sheets  of  water,  each  several  miles 
in  circuit,  located  some  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  to  the 
westward  of  Johnstown.  Since  the  above  was  writ 
ten,  a  public-house  has  been  opened  at  this  place, 
several  new  dwellings  erected,  and  a  plank-road  con 
structed  from  thence  to  Fonda,  sixteen  miles  distant. 
14* 


162  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

I  have  somewhere  alluded  to  Chase's  Patent.  Wm. 
Chase,  the  patentee,  was  in  early  life  a  sea-captain, 
and  in  the  Revolution  became  an  American  privateer. 
He  was  captured  and  taken  to  Europe,  and  while 
there  visited  France.  After  the  war  he  removed 
from  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  to  Hoosick,  New 
York.  At  the  latter  place  he  built  a  bridge,  by  con 
structing  which,  he  was  enabled  to  purchase  some 
12,000  acres  of  land  in  the  western  part  of  Fulton 
county.  A  large  tract  of  land  adjoining  his,  and 
which  Chase  intended  to  buy,  was  subsequently  sold 
in  Albany  by  auction,  and  was  purchased  by  Barent 
Bleeker,  Cornelius  Glen,  and  Abraham  G.  Lansing. 
It  was  known  as  Bleeker  and  Lansing's  patent.  Fail 
ing  to  secure  this  tract  of  land,  on  which  he  seems  to 
have  set  his  affections,  Capt.  Chase  was  heard  to  ex 
claim  with  an  oath,  "  1  would  rather  have  lost  my 
right  in  Heaven,  than  a  title  to  this  soil !  "  People 
when  excited  often  utter  expressions  devoid  of  wit 
and  common  sense,  if  not,  in  fact,  foolishly  wicked. 

In  most  of  the  surveys  of  wild  land  in  and  adjoin 
ing  Fulton  county,  made  since  the  Revolution,  Maj. 
Stoner,  who  was  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  task  by  his 
familiarity  with  the  forest,  and  his  ability  to  endure 
fatigue,  acted  as  pilot  for  the  parties.  At  one  time 
while  engaged  in  exploring  lands  with  Capt.  Chase, 
the  latter  lost  a  gold  snuff-box  which  had  been  a  pre 
sent  in  France,  a  gift  he  prized  far  above  its  real 
value.  Stoner,  fortunately  for  the  old  privateer's 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  163 

peace  of  mind,  for  he  was  not  a  little  vexed  at  the 
misfortune,  seeing  it  glitter  in  the  leaves,  picked  it 
up  aud  restored  it  to  tbe  owner,  who  almost  waltzed 
for  joy.  This  same  Capt.  Chase  was  not  a  little  ec 
centric,  and  usually  got  up  at  least  once  in  the  night, 
to  drink  and  take  a  pinch  of  snuff. 

When  the  lands  contiguous  to  Piseco  *  lake,  known 
as  the  Ox  Bow  tract,  were  surveyed  some  years  ago, 
and  a  road  was  laid  out  from  the  settlements  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Mohawk  into  the  Piseco  country; 
Maj.  Stoner  attended  the  surveyor  and  commissioners 
as  pilot,  and  was  thus  engaged  for  two  seasons.  Law 
rence  Vrooman,  of  Schenectada,  was  the  surveyor 
who  ran  out  the  lines.  On  the  southerly  end  of  this 
road,  John  Rosevelt,  of  Fish  House,  was  engaged  as 
an  agent  or  commissioner.  Not  a  few  pleasing  inci 
dents  transpired  in  the  wilderness  during  this  time,  to 
keep  the  party,  which  sometimes  numbered  nearly 
twenty,  in  good  spirits.  Of  the  number  while  laying 
out  the  road,  who  thus  enjoyed  a  portion  of  the 
novelty  attending  a  trapper's  life,  and  learned  how 
large  mosquitoes  will  grow  in  the  woods  if  well  fed, 
were  J.  Watts  Cady,  and  Marcus  T.  Reynolds.  At 

*  Pi-se-co  is  an  aboriginal  word,  and  in  their  pronunciation, 
the  Indians  speak  it  as  though  spelled  Pe-sic-o ;  giving  a  hissing 
Sound  to  the  second  syllable.  It  is  derived  from  pisco,  a  fish, 
and  therefore  signifies  fish  lake.— John  Dunham. 

Piseco,  says  Spafford  in  his  Gazetteer  of  New  Forfe,  and  which 
he  spells  Pezeeko,  is  so  called  after  an  old  Indian  hermit  who 
dwelt  upon  its  shores. 


164  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

that  time  they  were  young  men,  possibly  with  some 
"  wild  oats,"  but  since  then  they  have  become  legal 
gentlemen  of  no  little  notoriety. 

At  one  time  when  the  surveying  party  were  near 
the  Ox  Bow,  a  name  significant  of  the  shape  of  one 
of  the  lakes,  and  far  removed  from  any  human  habi 
tation;  they  got  out  of  provisions,  and  the  pack-men, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  go  after  a  supply,  were  unwil 
ling  to  start,  entertaining  some  doubts  about  ever 
finding  their  way  back.  In  this  emergency  Stoner 
volunteered  to  proceed  with  as  little  delay  as  possible 
to  the  nearest  settlement,  which  was  Lake  Pleasant, 
and  relieve  the  necessities  of  his  comrades.  Arriving 
just  at  evening  at  the  house  of  a  pioneer,  named 
Denny,  the  family  baked  nearly  all  night;  and  early 
in  the  morning,  writh  a  sack  upon  his  back,  contain 
ing  nearly  a  dozen  large  loaves  of  bread,  and  a  good 
sized  cheese  to  balance,  he  set  out  on  his  return. 
Knowing  the  necessities  of  his  forest  friends  he  did 
not  tarry  to  let  the  bread  get  cold,  and  as  the 
weather  was  warm,  his  back  was  almost  blistered  on 
his  arrival.  Before  he  reached  the  place  of  destina 
tion,  he  met  a  messenger  despatched  by  Vrooman  to 
assist  him ;  bringing  a  junk-bottle  of  rum. 

Speaking  of  his  experience  in  surveying  in  the  Pi- 
seco  country,  Cady  observed  of  Stoner,  that  he  would 
kindle  a  fire — climb  a  tree — cook  a  dinner — empty  a 
bottle — shoot  a  deer — hook  a  trout — or  scent  an  In 
dian,  quicker  than  any  other  man  he  ever  kne.w. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  165 

The  old  trapper,  as  he  informed  the  writer,  took  some 
pains  to  show  the  young  men  named,  (who  were  law 
students  at  the  time,)  how  to  catch  trout,  and  in  the 
north  branch  of  the  Sacondaga,  Cady,  under  his 
teaching,  caught  a  bouncing  one;  of  which  exploit 
he  was  very  proud,  as  in  fact  he  had  a  right  to  be; 
for  it  made  a  meal  for  the  whole  surveying  corps. 

Anxious  to  get  through  as  soon  as  possible,  the  party 
laying  out  a  road,  continued  their  labors  in  some  in 
stances  on  the  Sabbath.  Stoner  usually  carried  a 
small  flag,  and  while  crossing  a  mountain  in  advance 
of  the  men  on  Sunday,  he  discovered  a  mass  of  ice 
between  the  rocks,  and  gave  a  shout  that  at  first  ex 
cited  the  anxiety  of  his  comrades,  lest  some  wild 
beast  lingered  in  their  path.  The  next  day  they  cap 
tured  a  large  turtle  on  the  shore  of  Piseco  lake,  ana' 
from  it  took  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  eggs,  of 
which  they  made  egg  nogg;  cooled  before  being 
served  round  by  ice  obtained  by  letting  one  of  the 
corps  down  between  the  rocks.  About  twenty  indi 
viduals  partook  of  the  beverage,  among  whom  were 
Seth  Wetmore,  the  state's  agent  for  opening  the 
road,  Judge  Peck,  and  Obadiah  Wilkins.  The  last 
named  gentleman  acted  as  master  of  ceremonies  in 
dressing  and  cooking  the  turtle's  meat,  which  afford 
ed  the  party  a  fine  repast.  This  was  on  the  4th 
day  of  July. 

At  some  period  of  the  survey,  Stoner  shot  a  hedge 
hog,  which  Vrooman  wanted  skinned;  and  besought 


166  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

several  to  do  it,  but  in  vain:  they  did  not  dare  to 
handle  it.  The  old  trapper  volunteered  and  took  off 
the  bristly  pelt;  which  the  surveyor,  on  his  return, 
carried  home  with  him. 

The  southerly  portion  of  country  under  considera 
tion  is  hilly  and  in  many  places  mountainous.  The 
soil  is  generally  stony,  though  in  many  instances, 
fertile;  but  far  better  adapted  to  grazing,  than  the 
production  of  grain.  The  prevailing  rock  is  of  the 
primitive  order,  consequently  the  shores  of  the  lakes 
which  sparkle  here  and  there  in  the  glens,  abound  in 
deposites  of  beautiful  sand;  which  often  afford  good 
writing  sand.  The  timber  is  principally  beech,  birch, 
maple,  hemlock  and  spruce.  Much  of  the  hemlock  is 
sawed  into  fence-boards,  and  acres  of  the  spruce 
annually  wrought  into  shingles  or  sawed  into  floor- 
plank;  all  of  which  find  a  ready  market  at  the  nearest 
accessible  point  on  the  Erie  canal:  and  since  the 
Garoga  and  Fonda  plank  road  is  favorable  to  its  re 
moval,  not  a  little  will  find  its  way  to  Fultonville, 
where  considerable  quantities  were  landed  before  the 
plank  road  was  laid  out. 

Much  of  this  country  still  has  a  primeval  look,  but 
its  majestic  forest  lords  and  advantageous  water  powers, 
must  in  time  invite  in  the  thrifty  artisan  and  hard- 
fisted  yeomar  o  suM  it:  indeed,  the 
time  may  this  new  country  shall 
not  only  "  bud  and  blossom  as  the  rose,"  but  with  the 
rose.  It  certainly  must  be  a  healthy  district;  for  it 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  167 

abounds  in  waters  the  most  limpid,  and  breezes  the 
most  invigorating*  The  lakes  and  their  tributaries 
are  stored  with  an  abundance  of  delicious  trout;  and 
if  not  walled  castles,  stately  mansions  may  yet  rear 
their  imposing  fronts  in  those  glens;  to  be  known 
in  future  ages  as  the  rivals  of  the  far-famed  glens  of 
Scotland;  when  some  Scott  or  Burns  shall  rise  up,  to 
picture  their  Indian  legends  in  story  and  in  song. 

The  outlets  to  some  of  the  lakes  around  which  Maj, 
Stoner  used  to  trap  the  sagacious,  though  too  often 
confiding  beaver,  run  off  in  a  northerly  course  to  swell 
the  Hudson,  while  other  lakes  send  their  tribute  in  a 
southerly  direction  to  the  Mohawk.  The  most  east* 
ern  of  the  latter  class  are  the  Garoga  lakes,  discharg 
ing  in  a  creek  of  the  same  name,  which  runs  into  the 
Mohawk  in  the  western  part  of  Palatine.  Some 
two  or  three  miles  to  the  westward  of  the  Garogas  is 
a  larger  lake,  known  among  the  early  hunters  as  Fish 
lake,  though  often  called  Canada  lake,  because  it  pays 
tribute  to  the  East  Canada  creek. 

An  anonymous  writer  in  the  Geneva  Courier,  over 
the  signature  of  Harold,  has  thus  pertinently  described 
this  sheet  of  water  and  its  locality,  in  that  paper, 
bearing  date,  Oct.  28,  1845.  "  Two  and  a  half  miles 
from  Caroga  [Garoga  must  be  the  aboriginal  word]  is 
a  larger  lake,  about  four  miles  in  length,  to  which  I 
gave  the  name  of  Lake  Byrri.  It  takes  exactly  the 
form  of  the  letter  S.  I  think  this  is  the  most  romantic 
spot  I  ever  visited.  The  surface  of  the  ground  rising 


168  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

back  from  the  shore,  is  covered  with  large  irregularly 
shaped  rocks,  from  five  to  forty  feet  in  diameter,  lying 
entirely  above  ground,  and  often  tumbling  together 
in  mountain  masses,  lodged  and  wedged  in  like  drift 
wood.  Many  of  these  rocks  are  riven  asunder  and 
the  base  of  each  portion  thrown  outward  from  the  line 
of  separation,  the  superior  parts  resting  against  each 
other,  thus  forming  apartments  with  a  solid  stone  roof 
large  enough  to  shelter  a  dozen  or  twenty  men.  This 
I  think  must  have  been  the  work  of  fire.  Strange  as 
it  may  seem,  all  this  is  in  quite  a  dense  forest,  and 
almost  infinite  are  the  shapes  taken  by  the  trees  in 
their  turnings  and  twistings  to  avoid  the  numerous 
rocks.  In  some  instances  the  roots  of  a  single  tree 
have  grown  astride  a  huge  rock,  the  base  of  the  trunk 
resting  on  its  apex,  six  or  eight  feet  from  the  ground. 
The  appearance  is  the  same  as  if  the  rock  were  forced 
up  from  the  ground  beneath,  elevating  the  tree  with  it, 
but  not  a  particle  of  earth  attaches  to  either;  and  these 
are  all  living,  healthy  trees.  It  is  in  this  neighbor 
hood  that  tradition  says  large  sums  of  money  were 
buried  by  certain  Spaniards,  in  the  time  of  the  Ameri 
can  Revolution;  but  '  it's  sure  never  a  late  o'  it  did  I 
find  at  all,  at  all  /'  So  said  a  hard-fisted  son  of  Erin, 
relating  the  story.  Near  the  centre  of  Lake  Byrn,  is 
a  small  rocky  island,  covered  with  evergreens,  birch 
and  flowering  shrubs."  This  island,  the  reader  will 
remember,  I  have  named  Stoner's  island.  The  writer 
above  quoted  called  on  Major  Stoner,  at  the  time  of 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  169 

his  visit,  and  his  Chips  of  Travel  contained  a  brief 
summary  of  the  old  warrior's  military  life. 

A  few  miles  distant  from  Lake  Byrn  is  a  body  of 
water  of  nearly  the  same  size  called  Pine  lake,  on  ac 
count  of  the  lordly  pines  about  its  shores:  it  empties 
into  the  former.  Two  small  crystal  sheets  above  Pine 
lake  are  called  Stink  lakes.  Their  unpoetic  name  at 
tached  from  the  following  incident.  Stoner  and  De 
Line  were  there  on  a  hunt,  and  discovered  many 
bushels  of  dead  fish,  principally  suckers,  which  had 
got  over  a  beaver's  dam  in  a  freshet;  and  which,  be 
ing  unable  to  return,  had  died  on  the  recession  of  the 
water,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  those  hunters,  who 
thus  named  the  lakes.  Their  outlet  runs  into  that  of 
Pine  lake.  Several  small  lakes  in  the  southerly  part 
of  Hamilton  county,  unite  their  waters  to  form  the  head 
of  West  Canada  creek.  Lake  Good  Luck,  some  ten 
or  twelve  miles  in  circumference,  which  lies  only  a 
few  miles  to  the  northward  of  Stink  lakes,  empties 
into  the  west  branch  of  the  Sacondaga,  one  and  a  half 
miles  below  Devereux's  mills.  This  lake  derived  its 
name  from  the  following  incident.  While  Vrooman 
was  surveying  near  it,  and  several  of  his  party  were 
making  a  large  canoe  from  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  John 
Burgess,  his  son-in-law,  discharged  his  gun  at  a  loon, 
off  on  the  water.  The  piece  burst  and  scattered  its 
fragments  harmlessly  in  every  direction.  The  acci 
dent  terminated  so  fortunately,  that  the  name  the  lake 

now  bears,  was  entered  on  the  surveyor's  field-book. 
15 


170  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

About  two  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  outlet  from 
Gook  Luck,  is  a  small  lake  called  Trout  lake.  It 
abounds  in  trout,  which  circumstance  originated  its 
name;  and  not  a  few  anglers  visit  it  to  replenish  their 
larder.  On  the  shore  of  this  lake,  the  reader  will  re 
member,  a  poor  Indian  once  lost  a  turtle's  and  his  own 
shell.  S  toner  at  different  times,  killed  two  moose  in  the 
edge  of  this  lake,  while  the  animals  were  fighting  flies. 
Satterlee's  mills  are  located  on  West  Sacondaga,  at  a 
rapid  some  two  miles  below  the  outlet  of  Trout  lake. 
From  those  mills  to  the  outlet  of  Piseco  lake,  the 
stream  is  rapid,  affording  fine  mill-seats.  At  this 
rapid  was  also  a  carrying  place,  where  the  Indian  and 
other  hunters  carried  their  canoes  over  land  to  get  into 
Piseco  lake.  It  is  some  twelve  miles  from  the  inlet  of 
Piseco  lake,  to  where  the  east  and  west  branches  of 
the  Sacondaga  unite. 

The  Piseco  is  the  largest  of  a  cluster  of  lakes  in 
Hamilton  county,  which  empty  into  the  west  branch 
of  the  Sacondaga,  and  is  some  nine  miles  long,  and  in 
places,  nearly  three  broad,  or  twenty  miles  in  circum 
ference.  Of  the  lakes  in  the  neighborhood  of  Piseco, 
are  Mud  lake,  so  called  because  its  shores  are  muddy; 
Spy  lake,  so  named  by  the  surveyors,  because  ap 
proached  so  unexpectedly  by  them;  Round  lake,  the 
name  indicating  its  form;  and  Ox-Bow  lake.  The 
last  mentioned  is  three  or  four  miles  long,  though  not 
very  wide,  and  shaped  like  the  bow  of  an  ox-yoke. 
In  the  territory  adjoining,  and  known  as  the  Ox-bow 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  171 

tract,  Seth  Wetmore,  a  former  sheriff  of  Montgomery 
county,  owned  some  thousands  of  acres,  a  consider 
able  portion  of  which  was  received  from  the  state 
as  compensation  for  opening  a  road,  the  survey  of 
which  I  have  alluded  to,  from  the  shore  of  Piseco  lake 
to  the  Bleeker  settlements.  Lake  Pleasant,  another 
large  and  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  lies  off  to  the  north 
east  of  the  Piseco;  and  its  outlet,  with  other  streams, 
forms  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Sacondaga:  to  the 
westward  of  Lake  Pleasant,  some  ten  or  twelve  miles, 
is  a  pretty  lake,  called  Louis's  lake,  after  a  Canadian 
Indian,  who  formerly  hunted  upon  its  shores. 

The  land  in  the  Piseco  country,  though  hilly  and 
often  mountainous,  is  said  to  be  less  stony  and  more 
fertile  than  that  of  the  Garoga  and  Bleeker  territory; 
and  when  New  England  gets  her  telescope  upon  it,  it 
will  beyond  all  doubt,  be  thickly  peopled  by  enter 
prising  inhabitants.  Many  acres  of  the  soil  are  covered 
with  a  heavy  growth  of  pine  and  spruce  timber,  which 
only  needs  an  avenue  to  market  richly  to  reward  the 
pioneer  for  the  blows  of  his  axe  and  saw. 

From  the  lakes  of  Hamilton  county,  streams  run  off 
in  almost  every  point  of  compass.  Besides  the  lakes 
named,  there  are  numerous  others  in  different  parts  of 
this  county;  among  which  are  Lake  Janet,  named 
after  the  accomplished  wife  of  Professor  James  E.  De 
Kay,  zoologist  of  the  state  in  her  late  scientific  survey; 
Lake  Catharine,  named  after  a  multitude  of  good 
Dutch  women,  and  one  in  particular ;  Racket  and  Long 


172  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

lakes.  The  two  last  named  are  the  largest  in  the 
county,  being  one  fourteen  and  the  other  eighteen 
miles  in  length.  Hamilton  county,  from  her  isolated 
situation  with  regard  to  the  export  of  her  products  j 
being  too  far  removed  to  warrant  a  transport  by  land 
to  a  good  market,  is  mostly  in  a  wild  and  unsettled 
condition;  she  having  only  one  legal  voter  to  every 
twenty-six  hundred  square  acres  of  her  territory;  but 
could  a  communication  by  rail  road  or  canal  be  opened 
to  some  good  market  place,  it  would  soon  teem  with 
a  busy  population.  That  a  connected  water  commu 
nication  is  feasible,  is  thus  hinted  at  by  Professor 
Emmons,  in  his  volume  of  the  New  York  Geology. 
He  observes,  speaking  of  the  waters  of  Hamilton 
county:  "These  lakes,  together  with  their  bays,  inlets 
and  outlets,  and  other  waters  which  may  be  connected 
with  them,  are  capable  of  forming  an  extended  line 
of  water  communication,  by  which  a  large  portion  of 
this  section  of  country  may  be  traversed ;  and  proba 
bly  the  time  may  not  be  far  distant,  wrhen  it  will  be 
thought  expedient  to  form  and  perfect  some  of  the 
natural  channels  of  communication  which  intersect 
this  part  of  the  state." 

In  one  of  his  annual  reports  during  the  geological 
survey,  Dr.  Emmons  thus  describes  this  region  of 
country.  "  I  have  the  pleasure  of  stating  that  it  is 
far  from  being  the  wet,  cold,  swampy,  and  barren  dis 
trict  which  it  has  been  represented  to  be.  The  soil  is 
generally  strong  and  productive;  the  mountains  are 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  173 

not  so  elevated  and  steep,  but  that  the  soil  is  preserved 
of  sufficient  thickness  to  their  tops  to  secure  their 
cultivation,  and  most  of  the  marshy  lands  may  be  re 
claimed  by  ditching;  by  this  means  they  will  bec.ome 
more  valuable  than  the  uplands  for  producing  hay.  In 
fine,  it  will  be  found  an  excellent  country  for  grazing, 
raising  stock,  and  producing  butter  and  cheese.  The 
strength  of  the  soil  is  sufficiently  tested  by  the  heavy 
growth  of  timber,  which  is  principally  of  hard  wood, 
as  beech,  maple,  yellow-birch,  butternut  and  elm.  The 
evergreens  or  pines,  are  confined  mostly  to  the  lower 
ranges  of  mountains.  Some  of  them  are  of  the  largest 
growth  of  any  in  the  state,  and  are  suitable  for  the 
main  shafts  of  the  largest  of  the  cotton  mills.  In  the 
main,  the  county  resembles  the  mountainous  districts 
of  New  England,  and  like  these  produces  the  same 
intermixture  of  forest  trees,  and  has  about  the  same 
adaptation  for  the  production  of  the  different  kinds  of 
grain,  as  wheat,  rye,  oats,  peas,  barley,  together  with 
fine  crops  of  potatoes." 

Comparatively  little  is  yet  known  of  northern  New 
York,  indeed,  a  great  part  of  what  has  heretofore  been 
known,  was  only  so  in  error;  this  is  my  apology,  for 
saying  so  much  about  it. 

In  a  hunting  excursion  accompanied  by  Lieut.  Wal 
lace  and  one  Coffin,  Major  Stoner  went  down  to 
Jessup's  river,  some  fifteen  miles  below  Fish  House; 
and  in  the  woods  between  that  river  and  the  Sacondaga, 

they  found  the  body  of  a  white  man  they  supposed 
15* 


174  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

had  possibly  been  insane;  and  had  strayed  into  the 
wilderness  and  there  died:  but  he  may  have  been  a 
hunter  and  crossed  the  track  of  one  of  like  craft,  who 
revenged  with  death  a  real  or  supposed  injury. 

The  local  Indian  names  Garoga,  and  Kennyetto,  I 
have  sought  in  vain  to  get  the  English  definition  of. 
If  any  individual  can  give  the  signification  of  either 
of  them,  they  will  confer  a  favor  by  communicating 
the  same  to  my  address.  It  is  not  only  important  that 
Indian  names  be  preserved,  but  that  their  true  mean 
ing  be  handed  down  to  future  generations,  which, 
divested  of  the  prejudices  that  influence  the  present, 
will  drop  a  tear  of  pity  over  the  wrongs  and  injuries 
done  this  brave,  indeed  once  noble  but  now  degraded 
race ;  and  cherish  the  significant  and  purely  American 
names  they  once  gave  to  our  lakes,  rivers,  and  moun 
tains,  as  they  would  their  household  gods. 


CHAPTER  XII, 

Nathaniel  Foster,  justly  celebrated  as  a  hunter  and 
trapper  of  northern  New  York,  was  a  native  of  Hins- 
dale,  Windham  county,  Vermont;  the  town  is  now 
called  Vernon.  He  was  named  after  his  father,  and 
was  born  about  the  year  1767.  At  the  age  of  three 
or  four  and  twenty  he  married  Miss  Jemima,  daughter 
of  Amos  Streeter,  of  New  Hampshire;  a  year  or  two 
after  which,  and  nine  or  ten  years  subsequent  to  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  he  removed  to  the  town  of 
Salisbury,  Herkimer  county,  New  York;  at  which 
time  the  country  around  his  new  home  was  mostly  a 
wilderness. 

In  person  he  was  nearly  six  feet  high,  erect  and 
strongly  built,  with  a  large  muscular  frame  that  seem 
ed  well  fitted  for  fatigue.  His  features  were  com 
manding,  though  not  finely  marked,  and  when  cheer 
fulness  lit  up  his  countenance  through  his  keen  dark 
eye,  they  were  rather  prepossessing.  His  complexion 
was  sallow,  his  hair  was  a  sandy  brown,  but  not  very 
gray  to  the  hour  of  his  death,  although  he  grew  bald 
in  the  latter  part  of  his  life. 

At  the  time  of  Foster's  emigration  to  New  York, 
wild  game  was  so  abundant  in  the  northerly  part  of 
Herkimer  county,  that  with  his  fondness  for  the  ex- 


176  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

citement  attending  a  hunter's  life,  circumstances  com~ 
bined  to  make  him  a  perfect  Nimrod.  To  adopt  the 
language  of  a  correspondent,  "  He  was  a  Leather  stock 
ing  of  an  original  stamp,  and  devoted  to  a  wild-wood 
life"  He  began  his  pioneer  residence  in  the  winter, 
and  the  following  spring  he  took  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  fur,  principally  beaver,  to  purchase  a  cow  and 
many  articles  necessary  in  housekeeping.  He  after 
wards  obtained  yearly  large  quantities  of  valuable 
fur,  such  as  beaver,  otter,  musk-rat,  marten,  &c.  He 
has  been  known  to  have  three  or  four  hundred  musk* 
rat  traps  set  in  a  single  season,  employing  at  times 
several  men  to  help  him  tend  them. 

Deer,  bears  and  wolves  were  so  numerous  for  years 
after  Foster  made  his  home  on  the  borders  of  the 
forest,  that  he  slaughtered  them  in  great  numbers. 
Indeed,  it  is  .believed,  that  he  has  killed  more  of 
those  animals  collectively,  than  any  other  individual 
in  the  state  during  the  same  period;  having  slain  no 
less  than  seventy-six  deer  in  one  season,  and  ninety- 
six  bears  in  three  seasons.  He  has  also  been  known 
to  kill  twenty-five  wolves  in  one  year;  having  a  line 
of  traps  set  for  them  from  Salisbury  to  the  St.  Law 
rence.  These  animals  were  so  great  a  pest  among 
the  sheep-folds  when  the  country  was  new,  that  a 
liberal  bounty  was  paid  for  their  destruction  by  the 
state;  increased  at  times  by  the  liberality  of  certain 
counties  and  towns  in  which  they  were  the  most  nu 
merous.  The  avails  of  his  hunting  and  trapping 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  177 

amounted  in  one  year,  when  a  liberal  price  was  set 
upon  wolves,  to  the  sum  of  twelve  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars.  He  occasionally  killed  a  panther. 

The  bounties  paid  for  the  destruction  of  wild  ani 
mals,  often  made  the  taxes  of  frontier  towns  a  bur 
then;  and  a  wealthy  farmer  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Foster,  took  a  stand  one  season  which  prevented  the 
paying  of  such  a  reward  for  the  destruction  of  wolves 
as  hunters  thought  they  deserved.  The  consequence 
was,  that  all  the  old  and  young  Nimrods  in  the  vi 
cinity  turned  their  attention  to  other  game,  and  pur 
posely  let  the  wolves  alone ;  which  in  a  year  or  two 
more  were  greatly  on  the  increase.  Foster  told  his 
farmer  friend  at  the  election,  he  would  be  sorry  for 
the  manner  in  which  he  had  voted,  and  after  the 
animals  had  had  time  to  increase,  he  was  not  much 
surprised,  one  morning,  to  hear  a  most  pitiful  story 
from  him,  about  the  injuries  he  had  sustained  the 
night  before  by  wolves;  they  had  been  into  his  sheep- 
fold  and  destroyed  more  property  in  a  single  night, 
than  his  tax,  when  the  highest  bounty  was  paid  for 
their  scalps,  had  amounted  to  in  several  years.  He 
soon  found,  to  use  a  hunter's  phrase,  he  was  barking 
up  the  wrong  tree  for  sympathy.  "  Well,"  said 
Leatherstocking,  with  not  a  little  manifest  indiffer 
ence,  "  I  don't  know  as  I  can  pity  you  much.  If  you 
are  unwilling  to  pay  me  for  protecting  your  sheep, 
you  must  buy  traps  and  take  care  of  them  yourself." 
It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  add,  the  penurious  far- 


178  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

mer  was  ready  to  vote  a  more  liberal  bounty  than 
ever  for  the  destruction  of  wolves,  at  the  next  proper 
election. 

Some  winters  Foster  turned  his  attention  almost 
wholly  to  the  killing  of  deer,  disposing  of  their  sad 
dles  and  skins  for  the  eastern  market.  The  visitor  to 
the  Albany  Museum  will  there  see  the  skin  of  a  large 
moose  which  was  shot  by  this  hunter,  and  for  which  he 
received  from  the  proprietor  some  fifty  dollars.  There 
is  the  skin  of  another  large  moose  in  a  New  York  or 
Philadelphia  museum,  also  killed  by  this  hunter. 
The  following  incident  attended  the  death  of  one  of 
those  animals.  Foster  had  a  favorite  dog,  as  fond  of 
hunting  as  was  his  master.  The  bay  of  this  saga 
cious  animal  one  day  called  its  owner  to  a  retired 
spot  in  the  forest,  where  he  discovered  Watch 
holding  a  moose  by  the  nose ;  keeping  his  own  body 
between  the  fore-legs  of  his  adversary,  to  avoid  the 
heavy  blows  aimed  at  him  with  the  antlers  of  the 
enraged  animal,  which  formidable  weapons  weighed 
together  nearly  thirty  pounds. 

On  nearing  the  spot  Foster  sent  a  bullet  through 
the  heart  of  the  moose,  which  in  its  death-struggle 
dashed  the  dog  off  with  a  terrible  blow.  The  print 
of  the  dog's  teeth  remained  upon  the  nose  of  the 
moose,  but  both  animals  appeared  to  be  dead.  Foster 
took  off  his  coat  and  laid  his  canine  friend  upon  it, 
at  which  time  a  partner  in  the  hunt  arrived  upon  the 
ground.  With  a  heavy  heart  Foster  prepared  to  skin 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORE.  179 

the  game,  when  his  comrade  observed  a  moving  of 
the  muscles  about  the  dog's  neck,  and  told  the  former 
it  would  recover,  but  the  old  hunter  shook  his  head 
doubtingly.  After  a  while  Watch  raised  his  head 
slowly  from  the  ground  to  receive  the  caress  of  his 
master;  but  as  soon  as  his  eye  rested  upon  his  fallen 
antagonist,  he  sprang  to  his  feet  and  seized  the  life 
less  moose  by  the  throat,  from  which  he  was  with  no 
little  difficulty  removed.  The  restoration  of  his  favor 
ite  dog  to  life,  caused  Foster  more  real  joy  than  could 
possibly  the  killing  of  a  dozen  moose. 

One  or  two  years  after  Nathaniel  Foster  settled  in 
Salisbury,  his  father  removed  from  the  east  with  his 
family,  and  located  in  the  same  town.  He,  too,  was 
something  of  a  sportsman.  Nathaniel  had  two  bro 
thers  younger  than  himself,  who,  as  they  attained 
sufficient  age,  indulged  occasionally  in  hunting  deer. 
The  following  incident  will  show  how  providentially 
the  elder  brother  was  once  saved  from  harm.  His 
brother  Elisha  having  on  some  occasion  borrowed  his 
gun,  sent  it  home  by  a  young  son.  The  lad  as  he 
neared  the  dwelling  saw  his  uncle  going  in  at  the 
door,  and  to  be  very  smart,  as  boys  sometimes  are,  he 
drew  up  the  piece  and  snapped  it  at  him.  On  enter 
ing  the  house  he  told  his  kinsman  what  he  had  done; 
when  the  old  hunter  took  the  piece  from  the  hand  of 
his  nephew,  walked  to  the  door  and  snapped  it, 
and  a  bullet  whizzed  through  the  air  from  its  muzzle. 
He  remarked  as  he  went  to  set  it  away,  that  he  had 


180  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

shot  seventy-six  deer  with  his  rifle  that  season,  and  it 
had  not  before  missed  fire  in  a  single  instance  during 
the  whole  time. 

The  rifle  with  which  Foster  usually  hunted  would 
carry  two  balls  as  well  as  one;  and  when  he  desired 
to  render  the  death  of  large  game  doubly  sure,  he 
loaded  with  two  bullets.  Foster  and  Stoner  had  each 
a  rifle  at  one  time  made  after  the  same  pattern,  by 
Willis  Avery,  of  Salisbury,  and  called  double  shotters. 
They  were  made  with  a  single  barrel  with  two  locks, 
one  placed  above  the  other  far  enough  to  admit  of  two 
charges,  and  have  the  upper  charge  of  powder  rest 
upon  the  lower  bullet.  The  locks  were  made  for 
percussion  pills,  and  when  the  pick  which  crushed 
the  pill  at  the  first  lock  was  down,  there  was  no  dan 
ger  to  be  apprehended  in  firing  the  lower  charge. 
These  rifles  cost  about  seventy  dollars  each.  That  of 
Stoner  was  borne  by  a  soldier  into  the  late  Florida 
war. 

The  following  incident  will  serve  to  show  one  of 
the  numberless  perils  to  which  hunters  are  exposed 
in  the  forest.  .Nathaniel  Foster  and  his  brother, 
Shubael,  were  on  a  deer  hunt  many  years  ago  in  St. 
Lawrence  county,  when  the  former  came  suddenly 
upon  two  noble  bucks  trying  titles  to  the  soil.  To  end 
the  dispute,  he  drew  up  and  shot  one,  and  as  it  fell 
the  other  bounded  off  a  few  rods,  and  halted  to  wit 
ness  a  more  novel  engagement  than  its  own  recent 
one.  The  fallen  deer  was  not  killed,  but  was  badly 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  181 

.stunned  by  the  ball  striking  it  near  the  back-bone, 
and  as  the  hunter  ran  up  to  cut  its  throat,  the  animal 
sprang  upon  its  haunches,  and  in  its  own  defence 
struck  furiously  at  him  with  its  antlers.  Quick  as 
thought,  this  modern  Leatherstocking  placed  the  knife 
between  his  teeth,  and  grappled  the  weapons  of  his 
unexpected  foe.  The  struggle  for  the  mastery  was 
long  and  fierce,  the  hunter  not  daring  to  let  go  his 
hold;  but,  as  good  luck  would  have  it,  he  got  the 
head  of  the  deer  between  two  trees,  against  one  of 
which  a  horn  was  broken,  and  the  worried  animal 
thrown  down.  Before  it  could  recover,  the  hunter 
dealt  it  a  blow  upon  the  head  with  a  club  fortune  had 
placed  at  his  command,  when  he  succeeded  in  cutting 
its  throat.  The  tussle  lasted  more  than  thirty  minutes; 
and  when  his  brother  arrived  upon  the  ground,  he 
found  the  grass  and  bushes  trampled  down  for  several 
rods  around.  The  strength  of  the  hunter  was  nearly 
exhausted  in  the  engagement;  wrhile  his  tattered  gar 
ments  gave  evidence,  that  a  visit  to  his  wardrobe 
would  alone  restore  his  outward  man  to  the  condition 
it  was  in  an  hour  before. 

On  a  certain  occasion,  Shubael  Foster  visited  a 
wolf-trap,  in  company  with  his  brother,  Nathaniel, 
in  which  a  wolf  was  caught  by  one  of  its  hind 
legs.  It  crawled  under  a  log  on  their  approach; 
and  the  senior  hunter  conceiving  it  would  make  him 
a  fine  pet,  resolved  to  take  the  snarler  home  alive. 

With  a  forked  stick  he  fixed  a  kind  of  halter  upon  its 
16 


182  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

nose,  and  loosening  it  from  the  trap,  he  thus  led  the 
captive  home.  It  would  go  ten  or  fifteen  rods  as 
quietly  as  a  dog,  and  then  spring  at  their  faces  with 
all  its  might.  He  kept  it  muzzled  and  fasting  about 
the  house  for  several  days,  much  of  which  time  it 
concealed  itself  under  a  bed.  It  was  finally  slain  and 
a  bounty  taken  for  its  scalp. 

Nathaniel  Foster  was  familiarly  called  Uncle  Nat, 
among  his  intimate  friends.  His  early  advantages  at 
school  were  limited,  as  were  those  of  many  of  the 
hardy  pioneers  of  western  and  northern  New  York, 
who  chanced  to  be  boys  in  the  great  American  con 
test  for  liberty.  When  he  settled  in  Salisbury,  he 
could  neither  read  nor  write;  but,  about  the  year 
1810,  William  Waterman,  then  a  merchant  in  Salis 
bury,  learned  him  to  write  at  his  store,  as  he  informed 
the  author. 

The  northerly  part  of  Herkimer  county  was  not  only 
a  wilderness  when  Foster  began  the  life  of  a  hunter, 
but  much  of  it  is  still  in  a  state  of  nature.  It  is  dotted 
with  numerous  crystal  lakes  and  rivulets,  to  the  shores 
of  which  Foster  was  invited  in  his  hunting  excursions, 
as  wild  game  grew  scarce  nearer  his  home.  About 
the  year  1793,  or  1794,  John  Brown,  a  capitalist  of 
Rhode  Island,  purchased  a  tract  of  two  hundred  and 
ten  thousand  acres  of  wild  lands  about  the  head  waters 
of  Moose  river,  a  tributary  to  the  Black  river.  Lying 
in  the  north-east  part  of  Herkimer  and  the  western 
part  of  Hamilton  counties,  is  a  connected  chain  of 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  183 

eight  small  lakes,  and  their  outlet  forms  one  branch  of 
Moose  river.  It  is  known  there,  however,  as  the  Mill 
stream.  These  lakes,  which  lie  in  a  line  running 
nearly  east  and  west,  are  called  in  Gordon's  Gazetteer, 
the  Fulton  lakes,  but  why  they  are  so  called,  does  not 
appear. 

Brown  did  not  purchase  this  land  of  the  govern 
ment,  as  I  am  informed,  but  got  it  of  some  individual 
in  payment  for  a  debt,  and  soon  after  opened  a  road 
from  Remsen  to  it.  It  is  said  to  have  cost  Brown 
some  thirty  cents  an  acre.  He  visited  the  tract  in  the 
winter  of  1798  and  1799,  and  had  then,  or  previously, 
several  log  dwellings,  a  grist-mill  and  a  saw-mill  erect 
ed  upon  it,  with  the  view  of  bringing  it  into  market. 
He  spent  very  little  time  upon  the  tract,  however,  and 
had  not  accomplished  much  in  the  way  of  subduing 
those  wild  lands  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  took 
place  in  1806. 

Charles  F.  HerreshoiF  having  married  the  widow 
Francis,  a  daughter  of  John  Brown,  resolved  upon 
making  a  permanent  settlement  upon  Brown's  tract 
(so  called  since  his  purchase),  and  went  on  to  it  with 
that  intent  about  the  year  18 12.  He  has  generally 
been  regarded  as  a  German,  but  in  answer  to  an  in 
quiry,  he  assured  Darius  'Hawkins,  he  was  a  Prussian 
by  birth.  He  had  a  commanding  appearance,  being 
over  six  feet  high  and  well  formed.  He  was  very 
gentlemanly  in  his  deportment,  though  extremely 
proud  and  aristocratic.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a 


184  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

finished  scholar.  On  entering  the  forest  he  declared 
with  an  oath,  that  he  would  settle  the  tract,  or  settle 
himself. 

HerreshofT  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  time  on  the 
tract  for  several  years,  but  his  wife,  it  is  believed,  was 
never  there:  she  disapproved  of  his  seemingly  vision 
ary  operations.  Although  he  was  not  as  well  calcu 
lated  as  some  men  of  a  less  enterprising  spirit  are  to 
settle  a  new  country,  still,  considering  the  great  diffi 
culties  he  had  to  encounter,  which  are  of  a  magnitude 
people  living  at  ease  in  cities  can  hardly  conceive,  he 
had  accomplished  much  towards  the  fulfilment  of  his 
purpose.  He  repaired  the  mills  Brown  had  erected, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  he  had  cleared  up 
nearly  two  thousand  acres  of  land,  the  greater  part  of 
which  had  been  heavily  timbered,  and  erected  thereon 
some  thirty  or  forty  buildings.  The  mills  were  nearly 
three  miles  from  the  most  westerly  lake  of  the  Fulton 
chain,  and  at  that  place  he  built  a  forge  for  the  smelt 
ing  of  iron  ore.  He  also  opened  several  roads  to  the 
nearest  settlements. 

He  had  expended,  it  is  said,  more  than  fifteen  thou 
sand  dollars  (some  persons  have  named  a  much  larger 
sum),  with  as  yet  the  prospect  of  its  paying  little  or 
no  interest,  and  made  a  call  on  his  Providence  friends 
for  more  money.  But  alas!  for  his  peace  of  mind — 
the  draft  was  dishonored.  Unwilling  to  survive  the 
mortification  attendant  on  a  failure  of  his  schemes, 
and  unable  to  prosecute  them  any  further  for  the  want 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  185 

of  means,  he  became  disheartened,  loaded  a  pistol,  went 
into  the  yard  in  front  of  his  dwelling,  and  blew  out 
his  brains;  thus  effectually  settling  himself.  The  re 
port  of  the  pistol  instantly  brought  out  the  inmates  of 
the  house,  who  found  the  victim  of  ambition  sitting 
upon  the  ground,  where,  in  a  few  moments  he  lay  a 
gory  corpse. 

Such  was  the  melancholy  and  tragic  fate  of  one  of 
the  most  enterprising  men  that  ever  entered  the  wild 
lands  of  New  York,  to  subdue  them.  It  would  almost 
seem  as  though  he  had  lived  before  his  time.  Large 
sums  of  the  money  he  had  expended,  were  exhausted 
in  searching  for  iron,  where  it  is  very  possible,  with 
the  knowledge  modern  science  has  at  her  beck,  little 
or  no  expense  would  have  been  incurred.  That  iron 
and  perhaps  other  valuable  ores  abound  in  that  part 
of  the  state  in  large  quantities,  is  not  unlikely;  and 
some  more  fortunate,  though  less  enterprising  man 
than  the  first  active  settler  upon  Brown's  tract,  may 
yet  reap  a  rich  harvest  there  for  his  labors. 

The  death  of  HerresholF  took  place  December  19, 
1819,  at  which  time  he  was  boarding  with  Gardner 
Vincent,  whose  family  resided  on  the  tract.  Herre- 
shoff  took  three  hundred  merino  sheep  on  to  his  clear 
ing,  where  he  also  kept  a  span  of  horses.  The  body 
of  Herreshoff,  after  his  death,  was  carried  out  to  Rus 
sia  Corners,  a  distance  of  nearly  fifty  miles,  where  an 
inquest  was  held  upon  it  by  Henry  S.  Whiting  as 

coroner.     Several  citizens  of  Boonville  were  there  at 
16* 


186  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

the  time,  who  requested  to  take  the  body  to  that  place, 
after  the  inquest,  for  burial,  and  they  were  permitted 
to  take  it.  Says  Doctor  Henry  Graves,  of  Boonville, 
in  a  communication  to  the  writer:  "  At  this  place  I 
examined  the  wound  of  Herreshoff.  The  ball  entered 
the  right  temple  and  passed  through  the  head."  A 
few  years  after  his  death  Herreshoff's  friends  placed 
at  his  grave,  which  is  near  one  corner  of  the  village 
grave-yard  in  Boonville,  a  marble  slab  with  the  fol 
lowing  inscription: 

CHARLES 

FREDERICK 

HERRESHOFF, 

Obiit  Dec.  19th, 

1819, 
jEtat     50. 

Herreshoff  is  said,  on  good  authority,  to  have  manu 
factured  just  a  ton  of  iron  at  his  forge,  from  ore  ob 
tained  on  Brown's  tract.  It  was  of  the  very  best 
quality,  and  cost,  when  ready  for  use,  just  one  dollar  a 
pound.  Says  a  correspondent,  "  Black  sand  found 
upon  the  lake  shore,  and  separated  by  magnets,  was 
principally  used  in  making  his  iron.  He,  however, 
expected  to  find  mountain  or  rock  ore,  and  in  one  case 
he  followed  a  small  vein  in  the  rocks  some  200  feet, 
at  an  enormous  expense."  Some  have  stated  that  the 
quantity  of  iron  made  by  Herreshoff  was  less  than  is 
named  above,  and  a  friend  writes  that  "  every  pound 
of  iron  he  made  cost  him  more  than  an  ounce  of  gold." 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  187 

The  cost  of  his  iron  gives  a  principal  reason  why  he 
committed  suicide.  The  taxes  upon  the  tract  were 
also  heavy  for  unproductive  property.  The  assessor's 
valuation  was  one.  shilling  an  acre.  Samuel  Giles 
went  in  from  Russia  two  seasons  (believed  in  1813 
and  1814),  and  collected  the  tax,  which  was  sixty 
dollars  each  year. 

Stephen  Smith,  2d,  of  Russia,  was  engaged  as  a 
surveyor  on  Brown's  tract,  in  the  years  1815,  16  and 
17.  He  was  employed  by  John  Browrn  Francis,  a 
step-son  of  Herreshoff,  who  has  since  been  governor 
of  Rhode  Island.  The  tract  was  divided  into  eight 
townships,  numbering  from  one  to  eight.  Names  are 
said  to  have  been  given  to  those  paper  towns,  two  of 
which  are  believed  to  have  been  Economy  and  Fru 
gality:  names  very  proper  for  any  of  those  town 
ships,  and  indicative  of  the  virtues  it  would  be 
necessary  to  practice,  in  order  to  live  there. 

In  1817,  Smith  was  engaged  in  laying  out  a  public 
road  through  the  tract.  It  began  two  miles  east  of 
Boonville,  and  striking  the  tract  it  ran  through  town 
ships  number  1,  2,  part  of  3,  and  all  of  7.  From 
Herreshoff's  mills  it  ran  up  on  the  -north  side  of  the 
lakes,  terminating  at  the  Sacondaga  state  road,  lead 
ing  from  Russel,  St.  Lawrence  county,  to  Lake  Plea 
sant,  in  Hamilton  county,  then  being  surveyed  by 
Judge  Atwater,  of  St.  Lawrence  county,  and  located 
by  John  Fay,  Esq.,  of  Fish  House,  as  commissioner. 
This  road  extended  southerly  to  the  town  of  Wells, 


188  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK, 

as  I  have  elsewhere  shown.  The  greater  part  of  it 
is  now  overgrown  with  trees.  The  road  opened  by 
Smith  was  forty  miles  long,  and  intersected  the  Sacon- 
daga  road  twenty-seven  miles  from  Lake  Pleasant. 
Smith  was  engaged  on  his  road,  of  which  he  was  also 
a  commissioner,  sixty  days,  with  nine  hands.  Bridges 
and  cross-ways  were  not  made  by  the  surveying  party. 

Moose  lake,  after  which  Moose  river  is  called,  is 
one  of  the  largest  and  purest  lakes  on  the  tract,  being 
several  miles  in  extent,  and  very  deep.  It  lies  a  few 
miles  south  of  the  western  end  of  the  Fulton  chain. 
Southerly  from  Moose  lake,  and  farther  to  the  east 
ward,  heads  what  is  called  the  South  branch  of  Moose 
river.  It  is  three  miles  from  Moose  lake  to  the  South 
branch;  on  which  stream,  and  nearly  opposite  Moose 
lake  is  a  small  clearing  of  several  acres,  called  Cana- 
shagala,  an  Indian  name.  Some  suppose  this  clearing 
was  made  by  the  Indians,  and  others  that  the  timber 
was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  stream  at  this  point  is  a 
remarkable  spot  for  fishermen. 

The  survey  for  the  road  was  first  extended  up  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Fulton  chain,  and  north  side  of 
Moose  lake,  to  Fifth  lake ;  but  as  the  route  was  found 
impracticable  for  a  good  road,  on  account  of  the  diffi 
culties  to  be  overcome  in  the  make  of  the  land,  it  was 
located  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  lakes.  The  road 
laid  out  by  Smith,  struck  the  Black  river  ten  miles 
from  the  starting  point:  from  thence  to  Moose  river, 
was  six  and  a  half  miles;  from  which  place  to  the 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  189 

middle  settlement,  or  the  Herreshoff  dwelling,  it  was 
nearly  five  miles  more,  making  the  whole  distance 
from  Boonville  nearly  twenty-four  miles.  The  land 
on  each  side  of  the  road  was  taxed  to  defray  the  ex 
penses  of  its  survey.  Going  in  from  the  Remsen 
road,  Moose  river  is  crossed  about  one  mile  south  of 
the  clearing.  Near  the  road  from  the  middle  settle 
ment  (on  the  right  in  entering),  is  a  little  lake  of 
several  acres,  called  Huckleberry  lake,  those  berries 
growing  on  its  shore  The  outlet  of  this  pond  runs 
into  the  Mill  stream. 

Few  incidents  attending  the  survey  of  Brown's 
tract  are  now  remembered.  A  porcupine,  one  day, 
claimed  a  preemption  right  to  the  soil,  and  evinced 
a  disposition  to  dispute  the  surveyor's  title,  planting 
itself  in  a  bristling  posture  directly  in  the  road.  It 
was  an  ugly  customer  to  handle  without  mittens,  or 
rather  tongs,  and  surveyor  Smith,  acting  upon  the 
forest  hunter's  rule,  that  might  makes  right,  wilfully 
and  maliciously  slew  the  varmint  with  his  compass 
staff. 

Herreshoff  was  a  good  feeling  man,  and  at  times 
rather  jovial,  liking  a  little  fun  withal.  On  some 
occasion,  Smith,  accompanied  by  Herreshoff,  Vincent 
and  Silas  Thomas,  went  in  a  boat  to  the  head  of 
Fourth  lake,  to  select  some  pine  timber.  Passing  one 
of  the  islands  in  the  lake,  probably  Bear  island,  Her 
reshoff  desired  to  be  set  ashore  on  a  bluff  extending 
some  rods  into  the  lake.  As  is  generally  the  case 


190  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

with  foreigners,  who  find  tobacco  very  cheap  in  this 
country,  he  was  a  great  smoker,  and  having  lit  his 
pipe,  he  concluded  to  increase  the  fumigation  by  also 
lighting  the  grass  and  dry  brush  around  him.  A  few 
minutes  only  sufficed,  with  the  breeze  then  puffing,  to 
spread  the  flame  over  the  bluff.  The  wind  drove  the 
heat  toward  him,  and  calling  for  the  boat  to  come  to 
his  assistance,  he  gained  the  extreme  point  of  land, 
in  the  hope  of  escaping  the  fire.  Before  the  boat 
could  get  to  him,  however,  the  flame  drove  him  out 
upon  a  tree  which  extended  horizontally  over  the 
water. 

The  craft  seemed  to  him  to  move  like  a  snail,  as  the 
heat  and  smoke- — of  which  latter  commodity  he  for 
once  had  enough — became  more  and  more  insufferable. 
He  held  on  to  his  footing  until  he  saw  a  sheet  of  flame 
coming  directly  in  his  face,  when  he  sprang  off  into 
the  water,  among  the  trout.  He  did  not  glide  along 
as  noiselessly  though  as  they  did  in  that  element,  for 
he  floundered  like  a  porpoise;  and  for  once,  if  we 
mistake  not,  quit  smoking  with  tobacco  still  in  his 
pipe.  He  was  finally  rescued  by  his  companions, 
though  half  drowned  and  half  frozen,  as  he  took  the 
unexpected  bath  in  September,  and  shivered  for  hours 
to  pay  for  it.  This,  it  is  said,  was  not  the  only  time 
he  came  near  being  scprched  by  his  great  passion  for 
fire  and  smoke. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Mr.  W.  S.  Benchley,  of  Newport,  N.  Y.,  who  was 
well  acquainted  with  Uncle  Nat,  and  who  has  often 
been  on  Brown's  tract  with  Foster  and  since  his  day; 
has  at  my  request  kindly  furnished  me  by  letter  with 
several  incidents  in  the  old  trapper's  life,  and  a  de 
scription  of  the  tract,  or  a  portion  of  it,  which  letter  I 
shall  do  my  readers  a  favor  to  present  in  his  own 
words;  notwithstanding  he  tells  me  at  the  outset  he 
is  "  entirely  unused  to  writing  other  than  common 
business  transactions."  I  trust  he  will  pardon  me  for 
the  liberty  I  have  taken  with  his  name  and  letter. 

"  I  have  long  been  acquainted  with  a  part  of  that 
region  of  country  called  Brown's  Tract.  At  an  enor 
mous  expense,  Brown  has  opened  three  roads  on  to 
his  tract.*  The  route  now  taken  to  approach  it  from 
this  direction  is,  to  leave  the  northern  turnpike  at 
Boonville,  Oneida  county.  Taking  a  north-easterly 
direction,  you  pass  the  last  improvement  some  eight 
miles  from  Boonville,  beyond  which  the  road  is  im 
passable  for  carriages.  Pack-horses,  or  what  we  call 
drays  are  used  for  carrying  our  provisions,  &c.,  in  our 

*  The  road  from  Boonville  surveyed  by  Smith,  in  the  employ 
of  Gov.  Francis,  I  suppose  to  be  one  of  the  roads  here  alluded  to, 


192  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

hunting    and    fishing    excursions;     last    September 
[1848]  I  went  in  with  a  dray. 

"  On  reaching  Moose  river,  about  five  miles  from 
the  last  settlement,  we  have  to  scow  our  luggage 
over;  and  frequently  to  swim  our  horses.  Moose 
river  at  this  point  is  twice  as  large  as  the  West  Ca 
nada  creek,  and  quite  rapid.  In  fact,  the  entire  length 
of  the  river  is  one  continued  fall,  or  succession  of 
rapids;  making  sufficient  water-power,  if  improved, 
for  the  use  of  the  whole  state  of  New  York.  From 
Moose  river  to  the  first  clearing  we  reach  on  Brown's 
tract,  is  eleven  miles,  over  a  most  horribly  rocky, 
stony,  cold  region;  though  very  well  covered  with 
timber,  such  as  spruce,  balsam,  beech,  birch,  some 
maple  and  hemlock.* 

"  The  first  clearing  you  enter  is  called  Coal  hill, 
from  the  fact,  I  believe,  that  most  of  the  timber  from  ' 
this  clearing  was  made  into  coal  for  the  use  of  the 
iron-works  erected  by  HerreshofF,  son-in-law  to 
Brown.  A  short  distance  from  this  you  enter  a  large 
improvement  with  one  framed  house,  wrhere  Herres- 
hoff  used  to  live.  [This  is  in  township  number  7.] 
In  this  clearing  he  expended  a  large  amount  of  money 
in  searching  for  iron  ore;  blasting  and  digging  at  the 
base  of  a  rocky  hill  or  mountain  running  through  this 

*  That  much  of  this  tract  in  an  agricultural  point  of  view  has 
a  most  forbidding  aspect,  there  can  be  but  little  doubt.  Judge 
Stow,  of  Lewis  county,  once  observed  of  it,  "  that  it  was  so  poor 
it  would  make  a  crow  shed  tears  of  blood  to  fly  over  it." 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  193 

improvement.  Failing  to  accomplish  what  he  ex 
pected,  he  became  discouraged:  his  friends  at  the 
same  time  refusing  to  advance  him  any  more  funds, 
and  left  alone  as  he  was,  to  bear  the  blame  of  a  fail 
ure;  disheartened  and  spirit-broken,  he  died,  c  as  the 
fool  dieth,'  by  blowing  out  his  brains  with  a  pistol. 

"Since  Herreshoff's  death,  the  improvements  made 
by  him  have  been  mostly  abandoned,  except  by  hunt 
ers  and  fishermen.  There  is  still  one  settler  residing 
there,  however,  a  Mr.  Arnold,  who  has  a  large  family. 
He  accommodates  fishermen  with  boats.  He  keeps 
several  cows,  horses,  &c.,  and  raises  a  large  quantity 
of  oats  yearly,  which  he  draws  to  market  in  the  win 
ter.  On  leaving  this  clearing  you  cross  one  branch 
of  Moose  river,  which  is  the  outlet  of  eight  small 
lakes,  of  which  I  shall  speak  hereafter.  Passing 
through  several  improvements  for  two  and  a  half 
miles,  you  reach  the  spot  where  once  stood  the  forge, 
a  saw-mill  and  grist-mill,  with  several  dwellings;  but 
now  entirely  gone  with  the  exception  of  one  barn- 
frame  with  the  roof  on,  otherwise  entirely  stripped  of 
covering. 

"  All  the  improvements  at  one  time  must  have  cov 
ered  some  two  thousand  acres,  with  about  forty  fami 
lies  upon  them.  All  the  buildings  now  remaining 
are  two  dwellings,  one  barn,  and  two  frames  of  barns 
divested  of  covering.  When  Foster  left  the  tract 
[1833],  some  remains  of  the  forge,  mills,  &c.,  were 

still  standing.     Iron  was  manufactured  at  this  forge 
J7 


194  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

of  a  good  quality,  though  said  to  be  at  a  cost  of  one 
dollar  per  pound.  I  have  no  doubt  iron  ore  abounds 
in  this  region,  in  inexhaustible  quantities,  with  other 
valuable  ores,  waiting  for  enterprise  to  dev elope  them, 
after  the  gold  fever  has  subsided.  Where  HerreshoiF 
erected  his  mills,  is  one  of  the  best  water  powers  in 
the  world.  A  dam  some  forty  feet  long  is  still  stand 
ing,  and  when  first  constructed,  raised  the  water  in 
the  Fourth  lake  about  two  feet.  This  dam  is  about 
three  miles  below  the  First  lake.  [The  lake  usually 
denominated  the  First  lalce  in  this  chain,  is,  in  truth, 
the  last,  or  Eighth  lake;  but  approached  as  they 
generally  are  from  Moose  river,  the  last  is  recognized 
as  the  first,  and  the  reader  will  understand  when  the 
relative  numbers  of  those  lakes  are  given,  that  they 
number  upward,  or  from  west  to  east.]  After  this 
dam  \vas  built,  it  was  three  months  before  the  water 
flowed  over  it;  in  fact,  search  was  made  supposing 
the  water  had  found  some  other  outlet. 

"  At  Herreshoff's  dam  we  take  boats  for  fishing 
excursions,  and  three  miles  up  the  stream  we  enter 
the  First  lake,  a  beautiful  pond,  say  one  mile  by  one 
and-a-half  miles  in  extent,  containing  one  small  is 
land,  called  Dog  island;,  a  dog  having  been  found 
upon  it  by  an  early  visitor.  About  half  a  mile  down 
the  outlet,  and  near  a  point  of  land  now  called  In 
dian's  point,  Uncle  Nat  shot  the  Indian.  Leaving 
this  lake  you  pass  into  the  Second  lake,  separated 
from  the  First  by  sand-bars,  with  a  narrow  channel 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  195 

some  twenty  feet  wide.  This  lake  is  some  longer 
than  the  First,  but  is  not  as  wide,  and  has  no  islands. 
Along  the  north  shore  of  Second  lake,  rises  a  most 
grand  and  sublime  mountain,  presenting  a  front  of 
naked  rock  for  nearly  one  mile,  at  a  height  of  several 
hundred  feet.  On  its  summit  Uncle  Nat  told  me  he 
had  often  been, c  that  from  it  he  could  see  numbers  of 
lakes ;  and  that  there  he  could  enjoy  himself,  and  not 
be  troubled  by  the  d — d  Indians.'  [This  bold  pro 
montory  I  shall  take  the  liberty  to  call  Foster's  06- 
servatoryJ] 

"From  the  Second  you  enter  the  Third  lake  by 
passing  through  a  strait  of  some  ten  rods.  It  is  a 
pretty,  pure,  deep  pond,  about  the  size  of  the  First 
and  Second.  In  this  lake  is  a  small  island,  called 
Grass  island,  because  it  is  well  covered  with  grass, 
and  has  few  trees  or  bushes  upon  it.  Leaving  the 
Third  you  pass  up  a  stream  some  fifty  or  sixty  rods, 
and  enter  the  Fourth  lake,  which  is  seven  miles  long, 
and  from  one  to  two  miles  wide.  It  has  four  islands, 
the  first  of  which  in  ascending  is  called  Deer  island, 
containing  about  100  acres  of  well  timbered  land." 

Desirous  of  permanently  fastening  the  names  of 
the  most  celebrated  Nimrods  of  this  region  upon  its 
scenery,  I  shall  take  the  liberty  to  call  this  island 
Benchley's  island,  after  George  Benchley;  who 
shantied  at  the  head  of  Third  lake,  but  a  short  dis 
tance  from  the  island,  and  who  perished  in  the  wil 
derness  while  following  the  fortunes  of  a  trapper. 


196  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

George  and  Joseph  Benchley  (brothers  of  my  cor 
respondent),  were  engaged  in  trapping  in  the  fall  of 
1819,  in  the  region  of  country  under  consideration. 
George,  who  was  the  oldest,  possessed  a  roving  and 
very  romantic  disposition.  For  a  while  he  was  en 
gaged  in  a  sea-faring  life,  but  tiring  of  its  monotony, 
he  severed  the  halliards  which  bound  him  to  the  "  roll 
ing  deep,"  and  returned  to  the  home  of  his  childhood. 
The  pursuit  of  a  forest-hunter  seemed  well  suited, 
from  its  excitement,  to  his  danger-daring  tempera 
ment. 

The  brothers  had  a  line  of  marten  traps,  extending 
from  the  Fulton  lakes  to  some  point  ori\he  State  road, 
running  from  Wells  to  Russel,  not  far  from  Racket 
lake,  where  they  had  a  shantee.  The  line  of  traps 
extended  thirty  or  forty  miles,  with  several  hunters' 
cabins  on  the  route.  They  were  engaged  in  their 
pursuits  until  the  last  of  November,  having  two  men 
employed  to  assist  them.  They  took  turns  in  travers 
ing  the  route,  and  George  was  alone  on  the  eastern 
end  of  it,  when  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  suspended  their 
operations.  Joseph  and  the  assistants  were  at  the 
main  shantee,  at  the  head  of  Third  lake,  where  they 
remained  several  days  anxiously  awaiting  the  return 
of  the  senior  hunter.  As  he  did  not  come  in,  two 
unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  to  seek  for  him;  but 
the  great  depth  of  snow  in  that  direction  prevented 
the  possibility  of  reaching  him  without  snow-shoes, 
and  they  had  not  a  pair  writh  them. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  197 

While  in  a  feverish  state  of  anxiety  about  their 
absent  friend,  not  caring  or  perhaps  not  daring  to 
return  home  without  some  tidings  of  him,  an  old 
hunter,  named  Morgan,  arrived  at  their  lodge  on 
snow-shoes.  He  had  come,  he  said,  directly  from 
their  eastern  shantee  on  the  State  road,  and  assured 
Joseph  that  his  brother  was  well,  and  had  gone  out  to 
Lake  Pleasant  to  obtain  food.  Giving  full  credit  to 
Morgan's  statement,  Joseph  and  his  men  returned 
home. 

The  winter  wore  away,  and  nothing  further  was 
heard  from  the  absent  hunter  by  his  friends  at  New 
port;  but,  as  he  was  a  single  man,  and  well  wreaned 
from  home,  little  anxiety  was  felt  about  him,  as  they 
supposed  him  safe  at  the  house  of  some  back-woods 
man  in  Hamilton  county.  In  the  spring  a  message 
reached  Newport,  that  the  body  of  a  man  had  been 
found  by  Indian  hunters,  in  a  shantee  near  Racket 
lake.  The  probability  was,  that  Benchley's  shantee 
was  indicated,  and  his  brothers  Jenks  and  William, 
anxious  to  know  his  fate,  made  a  journey  out  there, 
in  company  with  two  other  persons.  The  body,  which 
had  been  buried,  \vas  exhumed,  and  their  wrorst  fears 
were  realized — the  remains  were  those  of  their  kins 
man. 

Dark  mystery  has  ever  hung  over  the  last  moments 
of  this  unfortunate  hunter,  and  suspicion  over  the 
character  of  Morgan,  who  was  doubtless  the  last  indi 
vidual  who  saw  him  alive.  That  hunter  was  not  very 
17* 


198  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

scrupulous  of  his  acts,  as  "was  well  known,  and  it  has 
ever  since  been  surmised  that  he  seriously  injured 
Benchley  in  some  manner,  took  his  fur,  if  he  had  any, 
and  left  him  to  perish.  The  Indians  found  his  gun  in 
the  shantee,  but  no  fur;  and,  as  he  had  gone  over  the 
whole  line  of  traps,  it  seemed  impossible  that  he 
should  have  taken  none.  Morgan  had  considerable 
fur  when  he  left  the  forest.  That  Benchley  suffered 
mast  acutely  in  his  last  hours,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
He  had,  with  his  hunter's  knife,  evidently  cut  small 
pieces  of  wood  to  feed  his  fire,  from  the  logs  of  which 
part  of  the  hut  was  built,  while  he  had  strength  to  do 
so;  but,  how  long  he  hungered — how  keenly  he  suf 
fered,  in  body  and  mind — how  many  cold,  dark  and 
dreary  nights  he  lay  shivering,  without  an  earthly 
"  eye  to  pity,  or  arm  to  relieve,"  is  only  known  to 
Him  to  whom  no  mortal's  fate  is  a  mystery. 

Joseph  Benchley  w;as  a  musician;  and  the  fall  he 
was  hunting  with  his  brother,  he  had  his  violin  with 
him,  and  often  played  it,  "  to  drive  dull  care  away," 
and  afford  a  pastime  for  the  wild  animals  within  its 
hearing.  Orpheus,  a  celebrated  Greek  musician  of 
lang-syne,  is  said  to  have  called  down  the  mountains 
to  listen  to  the  melody  he  discoursed  in  the  valleys. 
It  would  have  troubled  him,  we  opine,  to  have  started 
any  of  those  on  Brown's  tract,  as  their  roots  were  too 
long ;  and  Benchley,  aware  of  the  fact,  very  properly 
chose  his  position,  not  at  their  base,  but  upon  their 
summit 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  199 

The  hunter  Morgan,  was  a  morose  and  rather  petu- 
lent  fellow,  and  not  very  popular  among  the  craft. 
He  traversed  the  forest  for  several  years,  on  and  about 
Brown's  tract,  but  finally  went  off  to  Canada  and  died 
there.  He  was  pretty  successful  in  taking  fur,  and  at 
times  was  accused  of  getting  it  unjustly.  He  was 
one  of  those  devil-daring  woodsmen  of  whom  the 
Indians  stood  in  awe.  From  this  digression  I  return 
to  Benchley's  description  of  the  country. 

"  The  next  island  in  Fourth  lake  [above  Benchley's 
island],  contains  about  one  quarter  of  an  acre,  is  a 
pile  of  bare  rocks,  and  is  known  by  the  name  of  Elba ; 
which  name  can  not  fail  to  remind  the  reader  of  the 
ambitious  and  unfortunate  Buonaparte.  It  produced  a 
solitary  pine,  which  for  many  years  was  its  only  object 
of  attraction.  A  Vandal  hand  has  lately  cut  it,  to 
the  deep  regret  of  all  sentimental  hunters. 

"  The  third  island  in  Fourth  lake  contains  ten  or 
fifteen  acres  of  land,  and  is  called  Bear  island,  an  early 
hunter  having  killed  one  of  those  animals  upon  it. 
Near  the  head  of  this  lake,  and  some  fifty  or  sixty 
rods  from  Bear  island,  is  a  small  island  called  Dollar 
island,  from  its  rotundity  of  shape.  There  is,  in  shoal 
water,  between  Elba  and  Bear  island,  and  about  a 
mile  distant  from  the  former  a  bare  rock,  called  Gull 
•rock.  This  rock  is  said  to  be  on  the  line  between 
Herkimer  and  Hamilton  counties.  Brown's  tract  ex 
tends  across  Herkimer,  and  into  the  counties  of  Lewis 
on  the  west,  and  Hamilton  on  the  east. 


200  TKAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

"  On  the  forest-bound  Elba  of  Fourth  lake,  I  have 
shantied  several  times  with  Foster.  On  one  occasion, 
when  there ,  the  Indian  (whom  he  afterwards  killed) 
and  his  squaw,  came  and  spent  the  night  with  us, 
taking  from  the  lake  their  bark  canoe  and  dried  moose- 
skin  for  a  shelter.  I  have  spent  several  days  upon 
this  lake  with  Foster.  He  conversed  but  little,  and 
his  restless,  roving  eye  was  never  still.  With  his  rifle 
beside  him,  he  seemed  ever  anxious  to  discover  some 
thing  on  shore,  worthy  of  his  never  erring  aim. 

"  The  bald-eagle,  which  frequents  this  region,  he 
would  never  disturb,  for  he  thought  those  noble  birds 
were  made  to  live  unmolested  by  man, (  although,'  as 
he  said, '  the  c — d  Indians  killed  them.'  He  seemed 
to  feel  as  though  he  was  lord  of  Brown's  tract,  and 
that  no  one  else,  especially  an  Indian,  had  as  good  a 
right  there.  With  the  Indian  he  shot,  I  was  well  ac 
quainted.  He  was  indeed  a  noble  looking  fellow  in 
appearance.  He  was  of  the  St.  Regis  tribe,  with  a 
cross  of  French  blood.  [Says  Dr.  Graves,  in  a  com 
munication  to  the  author,  "  I  have  often  seen  the  In 
dian  Foster  killed.  He  was  a  very  friendly,  intelli 
gent  man,  and  belonged  to  the  St.  Regis  tribe  on  the 
St.  Lawrence."]  His  wife  was  slender  and  very 
feminine.  She  was  under  the  most  perfect  subjection 
to  her  husband,  and  was  no  doubt  often  ill  treated  by 
him  when  tipsy:  in  fact,  I  believe  that  his  and  Foster's 
difficulties  first  commenced  when  they  had  both  been 
drinking. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  201 

"  Frequently,  "when  on  these  waters,  Foster  would 
direct  my  attention  to  an  object  on  some  distant,  grassy 
beach,  saying,  '  See!  there  is  a  deer:  watch,  and  you 
will  see  it  move.'  He  was  never  mistaken ;  still  a  man 
unacquainted  with  the  wood,  would  very  seldom  sup 
pose  that  any  thing  of  the  kind  was  in  sight. 

"  At  the  head  of  Fourth  lake  was  formerly  a  grove 
of  white  pine.  [To  this  grove  Herreshoff  was  going 
when  he  was  compelled  to  take  a  cold  bath.]  Five 
distinct  echoes  to  the  human  voice  may  be  heard  at 
this  place,  and  here  I  have  repeatedly  discharged  a 
gun,  to  hear  mountain  after  mountain  send  back  its 
tardy  response,  until  my  rifle's  shrill  note  had  been 
mimicked  by  five  (as  I  suppose)  mermaid  hunters. 

"Lying,parallel  to  the  Fulton  chain,  and  mostly  op 
posite  Fourth  lake,  say  two  miles  to  the  north  of  it,  is 
a  chain  of  three  small  lakes,  several  miles  in  extent, 
which  also  discharge  their  waters  into  Moose  river. 
The  stream  is  called  the  North  branch,  and  the  lakes 
are  known  in  the  forest  by  the  name  of  North  Branch 
lakes. 

"  Leaving  the  Fourth,  you  pass  up  the  inlet  some 
half  a  mile,  into  the  Fifth  lake,  a  small  pond  of  eight 
or  ten  acres.  From  the  Fifth  to  the  Sixth  lake,  is  a 
continued  fall  of  three-fourths  of  a  mile.  Here  is  a 
carrying  place;  and  Foster,  at  the  age  of  sixty,  would 
take  his  skiff  upon  his  head  and  shoulders  and  carry 
it  from  one  lake  to  the  'other,  with  but  one  stop.  In 
fact,  at  that  age,  Foster  was  known  to  carry  a  deer 


202  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

three  miles  on  his  back.  With  a  single  lock  between 
Fifth  and  Sixth  lakes,  a  water  communication  might 
easily  be  obtained  the  whole  extent  of  the  eight  lakes. 
"  The  Sixth  lake  is  quite  small,  and  after  wading 
and  pushing  up  a  narrow,  rapid  stream,  say  one  and  a 
half  miles,  you  enter  the  l  Noble  Seventh,'  as  Uncle 
Nat  called  it.  The  visitor  on  entering  this  lake,  meets 
with  a  grand  and  beautiful  view.  The  lake  is  about 
four  miles  long  and  two  wide,  with  a  nameless  island 
near  its  centre,  of  some  fifty  acres,  covered  with  rocks 
and  pine  timber.  [I  have  mentioned  in  these  pages  a 
forest-trapper  named  Green  White,  who  was  often  on 
the  island  under  consideration.  With  the  reader's 
permission,  I  will  call  this  island  White's  island,*] 

Near  this  island,  on  its  south  shore,  we  frequently  get 

« 

*  White  was  rather  under  the  middling  stature,  with  a  dark 
complexion,  and  possessing  a  very  keen,  dark  eye.  He  was  a 
man  of  few  words,  but  celebrated  for  his  shrewdness.  He  learned 
the  blacksmith's  trade  at  Schenectada  in  his  early  life,  and  always 
made  his  own  hunting-knives  and  hatchets.  He  was  a  very  suc 
cessful  hunter,  was  extensively  known,  and  by  Indian  hunters  he 
was  universally  feared.  The  Indians,  he  said  to  his  friends,  never 
stole  his  fur  but  once.  He  occasionally  crossed  the  track  of  Maj. 
Stoner,  to  whom  he  was  well  known,  but  as  he  hunted  to  the 
westward  of  Stoner,  they  did  not  often  meet. 

Says  Doctor  Graves,  of  Boonville,  "I  was  well  acquainted 
with  Green  White,  who  was  a  great  trapper  on  and  about  Brown's 
tract.  He  hunted  some  in  connection  with  Foster,  but  they 
generally  had  the  separate  interest.  White,  however,  was  much 
the  most  successful  trapper.  He  would  sometimes  bring  in  a 
hundred  dollars  worth  of  beaver  at  a  time — lay  drunk  until  he 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  203 

the  salmon  trout  in  100  feet  depth  of  water.  [Another 
informant  says  they  arc  caught  here  weighing  fifteen 
or  twenty  pounds.] 

"  At  the  head  of  Seventh  lake  is  a  grove  of  pitch- 
pine  timber,  which  timber  is  not  elsewhere  seen  in 
the  district.  On  entering  this  lake  at  one  time  with 
Foster  he  discovered  a  deer  feeding  upon  a  grassy 
beach,  nearly  half  a  mile  distant.  Said  he,  c  B.,  put 
me  on  shore  and  I  will  give  you  some  venison  for  din 
ner.'  I  did  so,  and  then  rowed  out  into  the  lake,  far 
enough  to  see  the  deer.  After  remaining  some  time, 
I  saw  Foster  step  suddenly  from  the  bushes  upon  the 
beach,  some  distance  from  the  deer.  Almost  the  very 

had  spent  it  all,  and  then  back  to  the  woods.  Not  so  with  Fos 
ter:  he  liked  a  glass,  but  would  be  called  a  temperate  inau. 

"  I  should  think  White  had  been  dead  some  fifteen  years.  He 
with  another  man  was  coming  in  from  the  tract ;  they  halted  by 
the  way-side,  built  them  a  brush  sharitee  and  stopped  for  the  night. 
During  the  night,  a  small  stub  of  a  tree  fell  across  the  shantee 
and  broke  White's  leg.  Early  in  the  morning  the  man  with  him 
came  to  Boonville  about  seventeen  miles  for  help.  He  was  brought 
in  on  a  litter ;  but  before  a  surgeon  could  be  obtained  to  amputate 
it,  the  limb  mortified  and  he  died." 

In  the  fall  of  1815,  said  the  surveyor  Smith,  White  came  in 
from  Brown's  tract  with  three  hundred  dollars  worth  of  fur,  and 
as  usual  on  such  ocasions,  he  trained  until  it  was  all  gone.  While 
hunting,  after  the  provisions  were  gone  he  had  taken  in  from  the 
settlement,  he  lived  on  wild  game  and  fish.  This  was  the  usual 
fare  of  hunters  in  the  forest.  White  is  said  to  have  been  about 
the  same  age  of  Foster,  and  is  believed  to  have  followed  trapping 
about  the  Fulton  lakes  a  few  years  earlier  than  did  Foster.  There 
was  a  hunter  named  Williams,  on  and  about  Brown's  tract  in  1815 


204  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

instant  the  deer  raised  its  head  from  feeding,  I  saw 
the  flash  of  his  rifle  and  the  deer  fall.  At  Foster's 
call  I  went  ashore,  he  not  knowing  that  I  had  seen 
the  deer  fall.  Well,  Uncle  Nat,  said  I,  have  you 
killed  him?  He  straightened  up  like  a  soldier,  with 
his  head  erect,  and  eyes  glistening;  and  grasping  his 
rifle  in  his  right  hand  and  holding  it  above  his  head, 
he  said,  f  B.,  he  never  told  a  lie.  When  you  hear 
him  speak,  he  always  tells  the  truth.'  I  stepped  on 
shore  and  found  he  had  put  his  ball  precisely  in  the 
centre  of  the  deer's  forehead.  He  must  have  been 
full  twenty-five  rods  from  the  animal,  and  fired  the 
instant  it  raised  its  head.  In  a  very  few  minutes  he 
had  a  fine  piece  of  venison  roasting  before  a  good  fire, 
and  ere  long  we  had  a  sweet  morsel  to  dine  upon. 

"At  another  time,  while  we  sat  fishing  from  our  boat, 
he  discovered  an  old  doe  with  two  fawns,  the  latter 
about  as  large  as  lambs  at  two  months  old.  They 
were  feeding  and  playing  upon  the  beach,  perhaps  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  distant.  Foster  was  on  fire  imme 
diately.  If  he  could  kill  the  old  doe,  he  said,  he  could 
kill  the  fawns,  and  their  runnets  would  bring  him  fifty 
cents  each.  I  remonstrated  against  killing  the  little 
fellows  for  so  small  a  gain,  and  proposed  to  pay  him 
the  dollar  and  let  them  go.  But  no;  nothing  would 
satisfy  him  short  of  a  shot.  I  then  rather  refused  to 
row  him  within  shot;  but  one  look  from  him  satisfied 
me  that  I  might  as  well  comply.  However,  I  managed 
in  the  operation  to  make  noise  enough  to  frighten  the 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  205 

old  doe;  but  not  without  strong  suspicions  on  his  part, 
that  it  was  done  intentionally. 

"  From  the  Seventh  to  the  Eighth  lake  is  three  or 
four  miles,  and  the  lake  is  some  four  or  five  miles 
long.  From  these  eight  lakes  runs  the  stream  on 
which  the  mills  on  Brown's  tract  were  erected.  A 
carrying  place  from  the  Eighth  lake,  some  two  miles, 
brings  you  to  what  is  called  the  Racket  inlet,  running 
easterly,  down  which  you  can  go  in  a  skiff  into  Racket 
lake,  and  from  thence  down  Racket  river  to  the  St. 
Lawrence. 

"  The  poor  Indian  Foster  killed,  was  buried  on  a 
point  near  where  the  mill  dam  now  stands,  and  a  rude 
cross  was  erected  at  his  head  by  his  friends.  Last 
September  [1848],  I  looked  for  the  grave,  but  it  was 
so  overgrown  with  grass  and  bushes  I  could  not  find 
it.  When  he  shot  the  Indian,  he  went  about  five 
miles  to  gain  Indian  Point  before  his  victim  arrived." 

The  Indian  here  alluded  to,  is  said  to  have  been 
quite  successful  in  killing  deer.  He  often  floated  for 
them.  This  was  done  in  the  night  time.  In  his  bark 
canoe,  behind  a  few  green  boughs,  he  would  proceed 
as  .silently  as  possible  along  the  shore  of  a  lake,  and 
shoot  the  timid  deer  there  feeding  on  grass,  or  stand 
ing  in  the  water's  edge  to  cool,  as  they  gazed  in  won 
der  at  the  torch  light  in  the  bow  of  the  craft,  which 
seemed  at  times  to  fascinate  them.  This  mode  of  kill 
ing  deer  much  displeased  Foster,  and  is  believed  to 

have  been  one  cause  of  difficulty  between  them. 
18 


206  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Besides  the  lakes  already  named  in  the  region  of 
country  under  consideration,  there  are  several  others 
of  greater  or  less  importance.  The  Jerseyfield  lake, 
a  handsome  sheet  of  water  some  two  miles  long,  and 
around  the  shores  of  which  Foster,  in  his  earlier  days, 
used  to  hunt,  lies  in  the  easterly  part  of  Salisbury. 
Black  creek,  which  is  one  of  the  tributaries  of  West 
Canada  creek,  has  its  source  in  the  Jerseyfield  lake. 

Jock's  lake,  so  called  after  Jock  (Jonathan)  Wright, 
an  early  trapper  upon  its  shores,  is  a  very  pretty  lake, 
five  or  six  miles  long,  though  not  very  wide;  and  is 
situated  in  the  north-eastern  or  wilderness  portion  of 
Herkimer  county,  some  ten  miles  from  a  place  called 
Noblesborough.  Its  outlet  is  one  of  the  sources  of 
the  west  branch  of  WTes±  Canada  creek.  Some  four 
miles  south  of  Jock's  lake  is  a  small  sheet  of  water 
called  Little  Salmon  lake,  and  about  two  miles  to  the 
westward  of  Jock's  lake,  is  another  trout  inhabiting 
pond,  called  Black  River  South  lake.  Around  those 
lakes,  and  along  their  streams,  were  favorite  haunts 
of  the  trapper  Wright. 

Of  the  physical  outline  of 'Hamilton  county  and  the. 
northerly  part  of  Herkimer,  Prof.  Lardner  Vanuxem, 
thus  remarks  in  his  volume  of  the  Geology  of  New 
York.  "  The  most  interesting  feature  of  the  wilder 
ness  region  is  its  chain  of  lakes,  placed  so  nearly 
upon  a  level  that  but  little  labor  from  man  is  required 
to  'connect  those  of  three  counties  together.  The 
lakes  of  Herkimer  and  Hamilton  are  arranged  upon 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  207 

a  line  which  is  parallel  with  the  St.  Lawrence  river 
and  Ontario  lake,  and  with  the  Ohio,  &c.;  appearing 
not  to  be  accident  merely,  but  the  result  of  a  law 
whose  operations  were  in  their  direction,  and  on 
several  parallels.  These  lakes,  were  a  communica 
tion  opened  from  east  to  west,  would  be  much  resorted 
to.  The  beauty  of  their  waters,  their  elevation,  and 
the  wild  scenery  which  surrounds  them,  would  not 
fail  to  attract  visitors." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

With  the  death  of  its  proprietor,  the  HerreshotF 
settlement  on  Brown's  tract  became  tenantless,  and  in 
a  short  time  all  the  improvements  were  going  to 
waste  and  destruction.  Hunters  occasionally  visited 
the  place,  and  when  there,  camped  in  the  deserted 
dwellings.  In  May,  1830,  the  premises  were  leased 
for  a  small  sum,  and  in  February  1832,  Nathaniel 
Foster,  who  had  for  years  traversed  this  region,  pur 
chased  an  assignment  of  the  lease  and  moved  his 
family  there;  that  he  might  with  greater  convenience 
follow  his  favorite  avocation  of  a  wilderness  trapper. 
His  family,  consisting  of  himself  and  wife  and  his 
son  David  and  wife,  occupied  the  Herreshoff  dwelling 
nearest  the  forge.  In  a  hut  not  far  from  Foster  dwelt 
an  Indian  hunter  named  Peter  Waters,  familiarly 
known  in  the  forest  by  the  name  of  Drid ;  and  in  an 
other  house  erected  by  the  original  proprietor,  resided 
three  old  bachelors,  William  S.  Wood,  David  Chase, 
and  Willard  Johnson.  Johnson  first  entered  the  forest 
with  HerreshofF,  to  work  at  his  forge.  Some  part  of 
the  time  there  were  three  or  four  other  persons  on  the 
clearing,  increasing  the  population  to  some  fifteen  in 
habitants,  all  of  whom  depended  principally  upon 
hunting  and  fishing  for  their  support.  Johnson,  who 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  209 

was  a  man  somewhat  advanced  in  life,  often  hunted 
with  Foster;  and  Wood,  of  whom  we  know  but  little 
else,  would  have  frozen  to  death  on  one  occasion,  but 
for  the  attentions  of  Foster. 

The  condition  of  the  other  settlers  at  this  period  on 
Brown's  tract,  was  rendered  the  more  comfortable  by 
the  family  of  Foster,  whose  women  were  able  and 
ready  to  dispense  the  numerous  little  comforts  the  sex 
can  command.  A  difficulty  arose  between  Foster  and 
his  Indian  neighbor,  which,  from  one  of  a  trifling  na 
ture,  assumed  a  most  serious  aspect.  A  feeling  not 
the  most  friendly  began  to  gain  a  place  between 
them,  and  some  person,  either  from  motives  of  mis 
chief  or  terror,  took  occasion  to  tell  Drid  that  Foster 
was  unfriendly  to  him — that  he  did  not  like  other 
hunters — was  a  dead  shot,  and  the  like.  It  was  a  per 
son  or  persons,  no  doubt,  who  had  had  some  misun 
derstanding  with  the  Indian,  and  adopted  this  method 
to  excite  his  fears  without  intending  Foster  any  in- 
•  jury;  possibly  the  informer  was  merely  desirous  of 
intimidating  him,  by  making  him  feel  conscious  that 
one  man,  at  least,  who  did  not  fear  him,  had  the 
ability  to  punish  him;  whatever  the  motive  was  is 
unknown,  but  the  red  hunter's  worst  passions  were 
now  aroused,  and  ere  long  he  resolved  to  destroy  a 
supposed  foe,  at  whatever  hazard.  On  several  occa 
sions,  when  intoxicated,  he  threatened  the  life  of 
Foster,  and  to  such  a  state  of  feverish  excitement  had 

he  arrived,  that  he  only  seemed  desirous  of  an  oppor- 

18* 


210  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

tunity  for  executing  his  diabolical  threat.  The  hunter 
Johnson,  on  several  occasions,  accompanied  Foster  to 
prevent  a  surprise  from  his  avowed  enemy. 

The  Foster  family  had  always  been  very  kind  to 
that  of  Drid,  and  when  the  latter  was  gone  on  a  long 
hunt,'  his  squaw  depended  almost  entirely  upon  the 
former  for  the  support  of  herself  and  children.  As 
Foster  kept  a  cow,  the  family  of  the  Indian  neighbor 
was  supplied  with  milk  free  of  charge;  while  not  a 
few  necessaries  dealt  out  to  them  when  Drid  was  from 
home,  had  been  carried  into  the  clearing  by  Foster, 
upon  his  back.  Of  the  latter  articles  he  made  a 
charge,  and  embracing  some  favorable  opportunity, 
he  asked  the  Indian  to  pay  the  account,  in  amount 
about  seventeen  shillings;  the  latter  promised  to  pay 
a  part  of  it.  Foster  now  told  the  Indian  that  he  had 
heard  of  his  having  threatened  his  life;  this  he  ad 
mitted,  said  they  lived  there  retired  from  any  settle 
ment,  where  there  was  no  law,  and  added,  "  If  I  kill 
you,  I  kill  you  ;  and  if  you  kill  me,  you  kill  me!  " 
Foster  told  him  he  would  make  no  such  agreement, 
that  he  did  not  wish  or  design  to  injure  him,  and  he 
must  not  harbor  such  feelings. 

One  of  the  earliest  causes  of  difficulty  between  these 
hunters  originated  as  follows;  nearly  a  year  before 
his  death,  Drid  took  Foster's  boat  without  permission 
and  left  it  in  the  river  a  mile  below  where  he  had 
taken  it.  He  was  admonished  that  he  must  not  re 
peat  such  an  act  if  he  would  not  be  punished  for  his 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  211 

temerity,  at  which  just  reproof  he  was  very  indignant; 
and  soon  after  was  heard  by  several  persons  to  say, 
"Me  got  a  bad  heart,  me  put  a  bullet  through  old  Fos 
ter."  It  was  about  the  time  of  the  boat  disturbance, 
that  certain  individuals  attempted  to  terrify  Drid  by 
threats  of  Foster's  vengeance. 

In  July,  and  about  two  months  before  his  death, 
Drid  was  returning  to  the  tract  in  company  with  a 
man  named  John  Carpenter,  when,  as  he  drew  near 
his  home,  he  fired  off  his  rifle,  reloaded  and  carefully 
primed  it.     His  companion  inquired  why  he  did  it  ? 
saying  they  would  then  find  no  game.     The  Indian 
replied,  "  Me  going  to  old  Foster's,  me  shoot  him  else 
he  shoot  me  I  "     He  did  go  to  Foster's  dwelling,  and 
standing  at  a  little  distance  from  the  door,  he  hailed 
several  times,  to  draw  the  object  of  search  to  an  ex 
posed  situation.     Mrs.  Foster  came  to  the  door,  and 
was  alarmed  to  see  the  threatening  attitude  of  her 
neighbor.     He  inquired  for  her  husband,  and  being 
told  that  he  was  not  at  home,  he  exclaimed  as  he 
turned  to  go  away,  "  Me  shoot  him  if  he  had  been  !  " 
Next  morning  the  family  of  Drid  being  out  of  pro 
visions,  applied  as  usual  to  Foster's  family  for  food. 
Informed  of  the  Indian's  conduct   by  his  wife   and 
Carpenter,  Foster  took  some  flour  and  in  company 
with  Carpenter,  sought  the  red  man's  cabin  to  relieve 
the  wants  of  the  family.     In  the  presence  of  the  wit 
ness  he  asked  Drid  if  he  had  not  called  at  his  door 
intending  to  shoot  him  ?     He  admitted  that  he  had, 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORE. 

and  assigned  as  a  reason,  that  he  had  been  told  that 
Foster  had  threatened  to  kill  him  for  taking  his  boat. 
"/  made  no  such  threat"  said  the  old  trapper,  "/ 
said  it  would  not  be  well  for  you  or  any  one  else,  to 
take  my  boat  a  second  time  and  fasten  it  a  mile  from 
my  landing." 

In  August  following  the  above  incident,  Drid  re 
turned  from  Racket  lake  with  furs,  and  halted  at 
Foster's  door,  at  which  were  several  neighbors ;  when 
the  old  trapper  very  civilly  asked  him  to  pay  his  ac 
count.  "  You  are  d — d  liar!"  said  the  Indian,  "  me 
don't  owe  you  cent !  "  He  raised  his  tomahawk  to 
strike  the  old  man,  who  sprang  into  the  house.  He 
opened  the  door  with  his  rifle  in  hand,  when  his  foe 
sullenly  fell  back  and  exclaimed,  "  If  you  ever  go  to 
Seventh  lake,  or  to  Racket  lake,  me  kill  you  I "  Fos 
ter  threatened  to  complain  of  him  before  a  justice  of 
the  peace,  and  he  replied,  "  Fll  get  there  soon  as  you 
do — haint  no  law  in  woods  here  !  "  The  Indian  with 
many  threats  then  went  off  to  his  cabin. 

Soon  after  this  encounter  with  his  adversary,  Fos 
ter  went  before  Joshua  Harris,  a  justice  of  the  peace 
in  Brantingham,  Lewis  county,  twenty  miles  from  his 
own  residence,  although  the  nearest  one,  and  com 
plained  that  this  Indian  had  then  a  third  time  sought 
his  life,  on  which  account  he  demanded  his  arrest. 
The  magistrate  declined  issuing  a  process  against 
Drid,  saying  that  if  he  proceeded  against  him,  the 
latter  would  be  as  likely  to  kill  him  as  complainant. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  213 

Failing  to  get  a  precept  against  his  dusky  antago 
nist,  some  of  his  acquaintances  advised  Foster  to  re 
move  his  family  from  the  forest,  but  he  declared  "  he 
would  not  be  frightened  off  by  an  Indian"  He  was 
very  malicious,  so  much  so  that  Aleck  Thompson,  an 
Indian  hunter,  who  had  a  shantee  near  his,  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  him,  at  least,  so  say  the  friends  of 
Foster.  The  apprehensions  of  the  Foster  family  were 
such  all  the  latter  part  of  the  summer,  that  they  sel 
dom  lit  a  candle  in  the  evening,  from  fear  that  Drid 
would  fire  in  at  their  windows.  Indeed,  he  had  threat 
ened  to  enter  the  house  in  the  night  time,  and  stab 
him  in  his  bed.  He  had  even  inquired  on  which 
side  of  the  bed  Foster  slept,  that  he  might  make 
sure  of  his  victim.  When  told  that  so  rash  an  act 
would  endanger  the  life  of  Mrs.  Foster,  he  replied, 
"  She  good  woman — me  no  care  to  hurt  her — but  ra 
ther  kill  'em  both,  than  not  kill  him  !  " 

On  the  morning  of  Drid's  death,  Foster  was,  agree 
ably  to  an  arrangement  made  the  evening  before,  to 
accompany  Wood  and  Chase  on  a  hunting  excursion 
to  Fourth  lake.  The  Indian  had  left  his  traps  and 
rifle  at  Racket  lake,  some  twelve  miles  beyond  the 
intended  destination  of  the  party,  but  concluded  to 
go  up  with  them  as  far  as  they  went.  Foster  called 
in  the  morning  to  see  if  the  bachelors  were  ready  for 
a  start,  and  the  Indian  being  present,  renewed  his 
quarrel  with  the  former  and  attempted  his,  life.  He 
was  a  stout  young  man,  between  twenty-five  and 


214  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

thirty  years  of  age,  and  Foster  was  upwards  of  sixty. 
He  succeeded  in  getting  the  old  man  down  upon  the 
floor,  but  was  foiled  in  taking  his  life  by  the  inter 
cession  of  the  by-standers,  who  drew  them  apart,  not 
however  until  the  Indian  had  cut  his  arm,  in  the 
attempt  to  thrust  a  knife  into  his  heart.  Thwarted 
when  he  thought  his  victim  sure,  he  threatened  ven 
geance,  and  declared  at  the  end  of  a  horrid  oath, 
"you  no  live  till  Christmas!"  Foster,  whose  worst 
passions  were  now  excited,  retorted,  "  you'll  do  d — — 
well  if  you  see  another  moon  /" 

Foster  retired  after  the  difficulty  with  the  Indian, 
and  did  not  join  the  party,  increased  on  its  setting 
out  by  several  others,  who  were  going  a  few  milesv.on 
a  fishing  excursion;  but  well  satisfied  that  his  foe 
would  return  and  lurk  about  his  dwelling  to  shoot 
him,  as  soon  as  he  had  obtained  his  rifle,  he  at  once 
resolved  to  destroy  the  Indian,  and  thus  prevent  the 
possibility  of  a  future  surprise.  He  accordingly  pro 
ceeded  up  the  river  nearly  to  the  First  lake,  where, 
upon  its  northern  shore,  a  point  of  land  projected  into 
the  river,  now  known  among  hunters  and  fishermen 
as  Indian's  point.  With  his  rifle  carefully  loaded 
with  two  balls,  Foster  obtained  a  commanding  posi 
tion  on  the  point,  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  party. 
After  some  delay  in  getting  ready  they  left  the  dam 
at  the  forge,  Drid  in  a  light  bark  canoe,  Wood  and 
Chase  in  a  large  bark  canoe,  and  the  fishing  party, 
consisting  of  four  persons,  in  a  boat. 


i 


DEATH  OF  THE  INDIAN  TRAPPER. 
See  page  215. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  215 

The  Indian,  fearing  no  doubt  from  the  morning's 
encounter  and  Foster's  threat,  that  his  personal  safety 
was  in  jeopardy,  kept  his  little  craft  near  that  of 
Wood  and  Chase.  At  length  the  party  neared  the 
point,  at  which  its  present  occupant  knew  the  white 
hunters  must  land  to  get  some  concealed  traps.  The 
fishing  party  rowed  on  as  the  canoes  put  in  for  the 
shore,  and  passing  the  point  they  discovered  the  old 
trapper  in  the  bushes,  and  pointing  in  the  direction 
of  the  bushes,  they  said  to  the  hunters,  "  there's  old 
Foster  /"  This  announcement  caused  the  Indian,  who 
was  then  between  the  other  canoe  and  the  shore,  to 
change  his  position,  and  take  the  lake  side  of  his 
companions.  The  object  of  Foster's  visiting  the 
point  was  rightly  divined  by  the  white  trappers,  who 
landed  and  obtained  their  traps  without  loss  of  time, 
and  put  off  from  the  shore,  when  Drid  placed  his 
canoe  along  side*of  theirs,  so  as  to  bring  himself 
about  midway  between  them,  if  possible  to  endanger 
their  lives  should  a  shot  be  attempted  at  himself. 

Although  Foster  was  several  rods  distant  from  the 
canoes,  still  the  position  of  his  foe  did  not  secure  his 
safety. '  The  Indian's  eye  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
fearful  figure  in  the  bushes  just  as  the  rifle  was  poised, 
and  he  threw  up  his  arms  in  terror  at  the  moment  of 
the  explosion.  Both  bullets  entered  his  left  side  near 
the  arm  pit,  passed  through  his  heart  and  went  out 
just  below  the  right  arm.  They  entered  in  the  same 
spot,  but  left  two  places  of  egress  opposite.  The 


216  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Indian  fell  backwards,  with  his  head  and  shoulders  in 
the  water,  his  feet  and  legs  remaining  in  the  canoe. 
He  fell  so  dead  that  his  position  continued  unchanged, 
the  fairy  craft  preserving  the  cradling  motion  com 
municated  to  it  by  his  fall,  for  some  length  of  time 
after  the  spirit  of  its  owner  had  winged  its  flight, 

"  To  range  the  circuit  of  the  sky." 

The  party  in  company  with  the  Indian  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  either  from  fear  or  some  other  motive, 
did  not  offer  to  touch  the  body,  but  returned  as 
speedily  as  possible  to  the  place  of  starting.  Leaving 
their  boats,  several  proceeded  directly  to  Foster's 
house,  where  they  found  him  lying  on  a  bed.  The 
distance  from  the  dam  to  Indian's  point  by  water  is 
greater  than  by  land,  and  the  old  trapper  having 
finished  his  morning's  work,  had  gained  his  own 
dwelling,  wiped  out  his  rifle  and  prepared  it  for  other 
game,  ere  the  messengers  arrived  there.  Foster  ex 
pressed  some  surprise  at  seeing  the  party  return  so 
soon,  and  enquired  what  brought  them  back.  He 
was  answered,  that  a  dead  man  was  up  the  lake,  the 
Indian  Drid,  and  they  desired  him  to  go  up  and  aid 
in  getting  him  down.  Agreeably  to  the  request, 
Foster  went  up  with  the  party  to  get  the  body,  and 
himself  took  it  into  the  boat,  as  the  rest  seemed  afraid 
to  touch  it.  He  also  aided  in  burying  it,  near  the 
Indian's  former  residence.  For  killing  this  Indian, 
Foster  was  arrested  soon  after,  bv  the  authorities  of 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  217 

Lewis  county ;  but  when  it  was  ascertained  that  the 
scene  of  blood  was  not  within  the  jurisdiction  of  that 
county,  he  was  removed  from  Martinsburg  to  Herki- 
mer,  where  he  gave  bail  for  his  appearance  when 
required,  and  returned  to  his  family. 

NOTE,  explanatory  of  the  engraving.  A  friend  who 
made  a  little  drawing  of  the  Fulton  chain  of  lakes, 
to  give  the  writer  an  idea  of  the  position  of  the 
parties,  inadvertently  placed  the  point  on  the  south 
side  of  the  lake,  which  led  to  an  error  in  the  cut 
representing  this  scene,  as  the  point  is  on  the  north 
side.  The  cut,  though  an  ideal  one,  is  said  (by  per 
sons  who  have  been  on  the  ground)  to  give  a  very 
striking  representation  of  the  point,  as  Foster  came 
out  between  two  trees.  A  row  of  fir  trees  are  seen 
in  the  distance,  said  to  be  more  numerous  than  are 
here  represented.  'The  cut  is  rather  a  spirited  one, 
and  if  the  reader  will  imagine  the  point  transposed 
to  the  opposite  shore,  and  the  position  of  the  parties 
changed  accordingly,  he  will  get  a  good  idea  of  the 
tragic  scene. 


19 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Having  been  indicted  for  murder,  at  a  court  of 
general  sessions,  in  Herkimer  county,  on  the  third  day 
of  February,  1834,  for  killing  the  Indian  Drid,  or,  as 
called  in  the  indictment,  Peter  Waters;  Nathaniel 
Foster  was  arraigned  for  trial  at  the  circuit  court  held 
in  that  county  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  September  fol 
lowing.  The  trial,  which  lasted  nearly  two  days,  was 
one  of  very  great  interest,  and  drew  together  an  im 
mense  crowd  of  anxious  spectators.  Several  indi 
viduals,  some  of  whom  were  hunters,  were  subpoenaed 
to  prove  the  quarrelsome  disposition  of  the  Indian  killed 
by  Foster;  but  they  were  not  called  upon  the  stand. 

The  court  consisted  of  his  honor,  Hiram  Denio,  cir 
cuit  judge,  and  Jonas  Cleland,  John  B.  Dygert,  Abijah 
Osborn,  and  Richard  Herendeen,  judges  of  the  bench 
of  common  pleas.  After  setting  aside  eleven  jurors, 
who  were  challenged  on  the  ground  of  having  pre 
judged  the  cause,  the  following  jurors  were  impan- 
neled:  Jacob  Davis,  John  Harder,  Henry  Ostrander, 
James  F.  Fox,  William  Bouck,  Peter  Rickert,  Wil 
liam  Shoemaker,  James  Shoemaker,  Lester  Green, 
Nicholas  A.  Staring,  Earl  Trumbull,  and  Peter  Bell. 
From  the  fact  that  so  great  a  number  of  jurors  were 
disqualified  for  the  reason  assigned,  we  may  properly 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  219 

infer  that  the  circumstances  which  induced  Foster  to 
take  the  Indian's  life,  were  generally  known;  and  it 
may  be  questioned  whether  any  twelve  freeholders, 
called  promiscuously  from  the  county,  would  have  ren 
dered  a  different  verdict  from  that  given  by  the  jury 
impanneled. 

James  B.  Hunt  (district  attorney),  and  Simeon 
Ford,  were  counsel  for  the  prosecution.  The  prisoner 
was  defended  by  E.  P.  Hurlbut,  with  whom  were 
associated  J.  A.  Spencer,  A.  Hackley  and  Lauren  Ford 
Mr.  Hunt  opened  the  cause  by  observing  that  the  pri 
soner  was  arraigned  for  murder,  a  rare  crime  in  that 
county;  stating  in  a  brief  and  pertinent  manner,  the 
facts  he  expected  to  show  in  the  progress  of  the  trial. 
Having  cited  from  the  statute  laws  what  would  and 
what  would  not  be  justifiable  homicide,  he  adduced 
the  following  testimony: 

DAVID  CHASE,  sworn. — Was  at  West  Brunswick  on 
the  17th  of  September  last;  there  saw  Peter  Waters; 
knows  the  prisoner;  saw  him  also  that  morning.  Jona 
than  Tyler,  William  Tyler,  Hiram  Thomas,  and  Nelson 
Stimpson,  started  together  in  one  boat  to  go  up  the 
lake;  Wood  and  witness  were  in  a  bark  canoe;  Wa 
ters  was  in  a  canoe  [of  bark]  alone;  they  started  from 
the  forge  in  company,  and  kept  up  the  pond,  east, 
until  they  came  to  a  point  of  land  about  two  miles 
from  the  forge,  when  they  stopped  to  get  their  traps; 
witness  and  Wood  were  going  to  trap  with  the  Indian 
in  partnership;  Waters's  boat  was  six  feet  from  wit- 


220  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

ness  and  along  side;  the  other  boat  was  opposite  four 
or  five  rods.  At  this  point  of  land,  First  lake  com 
menced;  as  Wood  stepped  out  to  get  the  traps,  wit 
ness  heard  a  rattling  in  the  bushes  and  looked  up  the 
lake,  thinking  it  was  birds;  turned  his  head  and  kept 
watch;  saw  Foster,  he  was  bent  over  a  little,  ap 
parently,  going  sideways;  saw  him  while  passing,  a 
distance  of  six  or  eight  feet;  had  no  doubt  as  to  the 
person.  Wood  took  up  a  load  of  traps  and  brought 
them  to  the  canoe;  does  not  know  but  he  went  again; 
thinks  he  brought  them  in  two  loads;  went  back  out 
of  sight  half  a  minute;  came  out  very  quick;  clenched 
up  the  traps  and  threw  them  in  the  boat  in  a  hurry, 
and  then  moved  off;  Indian,  as  he  heard  a  rattling  in 
the  bushes,  shoved  his  boat  close  up  to  witness;  they 
shoved  off  from  shore  and  brought  the  Indian  between 
witness  and  WTood,  in  his  own  canoe;  the  gun  then 
was  heard  to  go  off  upon  the  shore  on  the  point;  wit 
ness  turned  and  Indian  was  falling  backwards  from 
his  canoe;  made  two  motions  with  his  hands;  his 
legs  stuck  in  canoe  and  thus  he  died.  Witness  turned 
to  shore  and  saw  Foster  on  shore  in  the  direction  of 
the  report,  and  where  he  saw  him  before ;  witness  and 
Wood  had  each  a  rifle;  neither  of  their  rifles  were 
discharged.  Witness  called  to  his  companions  and 
said  '  here  is  a  dead  man,9  Waters  had  no  fire-arms ; 
an  hour  from  leaving  forge  to  that  time,  he  thinks, 
but  is  not  certain.  Witness  examined  the  body;  un 
der  the  left  arm,  about  two  inches,  the  balls  entered, 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  221 

and  came  out  about  six  inches  below  the  right  arm; 
these  killed  him;  gun  was  very  heavily  loaded;  saw 
no  other  person  on  shore  but  Foster;  Wood  was  in 
the  boat  before  gun  was  fired. 

Cross-examined. — It  was  two  or  three  rods  from 
their  boat  to  where  Foster  stood;  after  report  saw  him 
in  the  same  open  spot  again;  did  not  see  any  gun  in 
his  hand  either  way  he  passed;  did  not  notice  any 
smoke;  was  pretty  badly  frightened. 

NELSON  STIMPSON  sworn. — Was  present  17th  Sept. 
last;  saw  Waters  and  prisoner;  mentions  same  party 
in  boat  named  by  previous  witness ;  Wood  and  Chase 
were  in  one  canoe  and  the  Indian  in  another  alone; 
went  up  two  miles;  is  not  acquainted  there;  thinks  it 
may  have  been  an  hour  before  the  catastrophe ;  saw  a 
wake  in  the  bushes;  boat  passed  along  but  Wood's 
boat  had  stopped;  witness  saw  Foster  pass  ten  feet 
partly  bent  over  (lurking)  in  the  bushes;  witness  and 
his  party  were  hallooed  to  at  a  distance  of  thirty  rods 
from  this,  and  after  the  report  of  a  gun,  came  back 
and  found  Indian's  head  and  part  of  his  body  lying  in 
the  water,  and  his  legs  in  the  canoe;  did  not  see  any 
gun  in  Foster's  hands;  did  not  examine  body;  Chase 
fired  off  his  gun  two  charges;  it  was  a  double  shatter, 
and  appeared  to  have  been  loaded  sometime;  Wood 
discharged  his  gun;  did  not  see  Foster  after  report  of 
gun;  saw  no  smoke  there. 

WILLISTON  TYLER,  sworn. — Saw  Foster  on  the  17th 

of  Sept.  last  at  Foster's  house;  saw  Waters  at  the 

39* 


222  THAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

forge  same  day;  went  up  from  forge  with  party 
spoken  of;  they  went  up  to  the  point  (say  two  miles) 
in  company;  Wood  and  Chase  together;  Waters 
alone;  all  making  to  this  point  of  land;  W.  and  C. 
went  a-shore;  Stimpson  spoke  "There  goes  Foster;" 
witness  looked  and  saw  a  man  there  that  he  (witness) 
called  Foster;  they  rowed  round  the  point  out  of 
sight  of  the  rest;  Foster  was  walking  a  little  stooped 
and  sideways;  rowed  thirty  yards,  heard  report  of  a 
gun;  heard  Wood  or  Chase  hallo  "  come  back  as 
quick  as  you  can;"  they  went  back,  and  Chase  said 
they  had  a  dead  man  there;  Waters's  head  and 
shoulders  were  in  the  water  and  his  legs  in  the  canoe; 
did  not  examine  his  body;  two  holes  in  the  shirt  un 
der  one  arm;  examined  guns  of  the  others  and  found 
them  charged  as  stated  by  the  other  witnesses;  saw 
no  gun  in  Foster's  hands;  bushes  two  feet  high;  was 
five  or  six  rods  distant  when  he  saw  him;  witness 
and  Wood  went  to  Foster's  house;  found  Johnson  on 
the  hill  after  this  in  a  house  occupied  by  Wood  and 
Chase  carrying  in  some  hay;  Johnson  lived  with 
Foster;  this  was  four  miles  from  the  place  of  exe 
cution;  did  not  see  Foster  after  report  of  gun  until 
at  Foster's  house  same  day,  four  miles  from  point. 

Cross-examined. — Went  to  Foster's  house  on  the 
way  from  point;  found  him  there  lying  on  the  bed; 
did  not  know  Foster  until  the  night  before;  he  was  a 
stranger  until  then;  Foster  may  have  passed  eight  or 
ten  feet  in  witness's  sight  while  they  were  going 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK,  223 

along  in  the  boat;  there  were  bushes  there  but  not 
so  high  as  elsewhere;  some  were  ten  feet  high;  saw 
side  of  his  face;  judge  of  him  partly  from  his  gene 
ral  appearance;  he  was  without  a  hat;  was  bald- 
headed;  he  was  leaning  the  same  way  they  were 
passing;  stooped;  did  not  see  his  hands;  Foster  was 
between  two  and  three  rods  from  the  point  which  was 
to  the  left;  when  they  found  Foster  he  was  lying  on 
a  bed;  saw  his  gun  in  a  corner  of  the  room;  does 
not  know  whether  it  was  loaded  or  not;  was  nothing 
peculiar  in  Foster's  dress;  witness  was  not  rowing 
when  he  saw  Foster  in  the  space;  neither  saw  him 
before  nor  after  he  was  at  that  point. 

Direct  testimony  resumed. — Foster  discharged  and 
reloaded  his  gun  before  he  started;  this  was  about 
one  quarter  of  a  mile  from  Wood's  house;  Foster's 
house  is  on  the  right-hand  side  of  outlet;  and  he 
saw  him  at  the  other  side  of  the  outlet;  the  nearest 
way  to  get  to  that  place  from  Foster's  house  was  to 
cross  the  bridge  at  the  forge;  had  a  conversation  with 
Foster  after  he  fired  the  gun  and  reloaded;  witness 
inquired  "  have  you  shot  the  deer?  "  "  No,  that  d — d 
Indian,"  showing  on  his  wrist  a  scratch  and  blood; 
"  have  had  a  squabble  with  the  Indian  and  he  cut  this 
spot;  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  Mr.  Wood  and  Chase 
the  Indian  would  have  killed  me;  go  either  forward 
or  behind;  I  shall  not  go  fishing." 

Cross-examined. — The  place  called  the  forge  has 
not  been  used  hi  many  years;  this  is  about  eighteen 


224:  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

miles  from  any  settlers;  the  outlet  is  from  ten  to  fif 
teen  rods  wide;  they  talked  of  going  to  the  Fourth 
lake;  lives  in  Leyden,  Lewis  county;  the  houses  were 
dwelling-houses  erected  by  some  past  settlers. 

WILLIAM  S.  WOOD  sworn.  —  Knows  the  prisoner; 
knew  the  Indian  killed;  was  with  Chase;  did  not  see 
Foster  there  [on  the  point]  that  day;  went  ashore  to 
get  traps;  heard  the  report  of  a  gun;  the  Indian  was 
killed;  saw  no  person  in  the  bushes;  heard  no  noise; 
was  very  busy;  got  into  the  boat  about  as  quick  as 
usual;  was  about  three  or  four  yards  from  Waters 
when  shot;  Waters's  boat  lying  still;  witness  was  in 
his  boat  when  the  gun  was  fired;  did  not  see  Foster 
at  all  up  there;  saw  him  at  home  lying  on  his  bed 
after  the  killing;  also  before  that  at  my  house  in  the 
morning;  it  was  three  fourths  of  an  hour  from  the 
time  Foster  left  my  house  in  the  morning  to  the  gun 
report;  not  far  from  9  A.M.  when  gun  was  fired; 
about  four  miles  from  my  house  to  the  point. 

For  the  prisoner. — The  counsel  for  the  defence  here 
offered  to  show  that  the  premises  where  the  Indian 
was  killed,  were  leased  on  the  4th  of  May,  1830,  by 
Caleb  Lyon,  for  himself  and  as  agent,  to  David  and 
Solomon  Maybee;  that  the  Maybee's  went  in  and  oc 
cupied  under  the  lease,  until  the  26th  of  February, 
1832;  at  which  time  David  Maybee  assigned  the  lease 
for  the  sum  of  ten  dollars,  to  the  defendant,  who  took 
possession  and  occupied  under  said  lease  until  the 
alleged  murder  was  committed;  at  which  time  his 


TRAPPEHS  OF  NEW  YORK.  225 

right  had  not  expired.  Judge  Denio  said  that  the 
defendant  was  presumed  to  occupy  in  his  own  right; 
and  rejected  the  evidence  offered  as  conventional. 

WILLIAM  S.  WOOD  recalled. — Has  known  the  In 
dian  eighteen  months;  was  twenty-eight  years  old  as 
he  said;  was  a  short  able-bodied  Indian;  have  hunted 
with  him. 

Counsel. — Did  you  ever  hear  this  Indian  threaten 
to  kill  Foster? 

Counsel  for  prosecution. — Objected  to,  on  the 
ground  of  irrelevancy. 

Counsel  for  defence. — We  urge  the  evidence,  be 
cause  it  is  competent,  and  goes  to  establish  the  fact 
of  "  imminent  danger,"  to  the  life  of  Foster;  and 
whether  it  sufficently  establishes  that  fact  is  for  the 
jury  to  determine. 

Judge  Denio  said  the  testimony  was  inadmissible, 
and  Judge  Dygert  was  of  his  opinion;  but  when  the 
whole  Bench  was  appealed  to,  behold!  the  other  three 
judges  were  for  admitting  it;  and  for  the  first  time 
and  probably  the  last  time  in  his  official  station,  his 
Honor  found  himself  over-ruled  by  the  Common  Pleas 
judges. 

Witness. — Has  heard  Indian  at  different  times 
threaten  to  kill  Foster.  "  He  said  -Foster  was  calk 
ing  his  boat  (this  was  in  July)  and  he  had  a  mind  to 
go  up  and  tomahawk  Foster  and  throw  him  into  the 
the  river;  but  his  squaw  took  hold  of  his  coat  and 
persuaded  him  to  go  to  his  shantee;"  he  said  he  had 


226  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

a  notion  to  go  back;  "  If  I  can  not  do  it  now,"  said 
he,  "  the  first  time  I  catch  him  alone  I  '11  be  the  death 
of  him."  This  was  a  year  ago  last  July;  Foster 
came  to  witness's  house  the  morning  of  Sept.  17,  to 
see  how  long  before  witness  would  be  ready  to  start 
up  the  lakes;  witness  lives  on  south  side  of  outlet, 
and  Foster  on  the  north  side;  a  mile  from  witness's 
to  Foster's;  one  and  three-fourths  miles  from  witness's 
house  to  the  forge;  Foster  came  to  the  door,  (Chase 
and  witness  were  eating  breakfast).  "  How  long  be 
fore  you  will  be  ready  to  go?  "  asked  Foster.  "  In  an 
hour  or  perhaps  less,"  we  answered.  Foster  turned 
round  to  go  out;  Indian  was  standing  at  the  fire-place 
and  said,  "  What  you  call  me  d — m  rascal,  d — m 
Indian,  so  much  for  ?  "  "  Because  I  am  a  mind  to," 
he  answered;  the  Indian  sprung  upon  Foster,  took 
him  by  the  neck  and  drew  his  knife  upon  him,  which 
Foster  knocked  out  of  his  hand  upon  the  floor;  Indian 
said,  "  You  old  devil,  I  got  you  now,  I  kill  you;" 
witness  then  sprang  and  grabbed  the  Indian,  and 
Chase  secured  Foster's  rifle;  then  witness  relieved 
Foster,  who  stepped  to  the  door,  saying,  "  Where  Js 
my  rifle."  Indian  said,  "  WThere  's  my  tomahawk  1 
d — m  old  cuss!  "  Witness  said,  "  You  want  no  toma 
hawk;  be  peaceable;"  said  Indian  after  Foster  went 
out,  "  Now  Foster  wont  live  to  see  another  Christmas ! 
I  '11  kill  him,  d — m  old  cuss ! "  It  was  an  Indian 
hunting  knife  which  he  carried  by  his  side;  in  a 
sheath  in  his  belt;  knife  looked  as  if  it  had  been  a 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  227 

case-knife,  ground  off  to  a  peak  and  pointed;  Foster 
was  cut  across  his  wrist  and  face  in  the  flesh;  Indian 
"belonged  to  the  St.  Regis  tribe,  a  Canada  Indian; 
British  Indian  stout  and  athletic;  after  Foster  went 
out  Indian  said,  "  I  should  have  killed  him  then  if  it 
had  not  been  for  Chase  and  witness;"  three-fourths 
of  an  hour  after  this,  Indian  was  killed;  witness  was 
with  Indian  about  six  weeks,  and  left  him. 

Cross-examined. — Did  not  tell  Foster  the  last  threat 
at  witness's  house;  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after 
this  they  started;  were  about  half  an  hour  in  walking 
up  to  forge;  Waters  went  with  witness  and  Chase; 
were  not  long  at  forge;  found  others  at  forge;  about 
twenty  or  thirty  minutes  at  forge,  can't  say  precisely; 
took  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty  minutes  to  go  to  point; 
never  told  Foster  of  any  of  the  threats;  witness  and 
Chase  and  Indian  were  going  trapping  together; 
Chase  was  not  in  first  partnership  of  witness  and 
Indian. 

Counsel  for  defence. — Object  to  evidence  of  de 
fendant's  confessions,  as  opening  the  case  anew  after 
the  prosecution  had  rested;  overruled;  witness  went 
to  Foster's  house,  and  Foster  went  back  with  them 
[to  the  lake  to  get  the  body] ;  did  not  hear  Foster 
say  any  thing. 

JUDAH  C.  MARSH  sworn. — Was  at  Foster's  between 
the  15th  and  20th  of  August,  a  year  ago;  Foster 
asked  Indian  for  seventeen  shillings,  pay  for  sundry 
articles;  Indian  offered  to  pay  a  part  but  not  all; 


228  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Foster  said,  "  I  ?ve  let  you  have  articles  to  keep  you 
from  starving;  Indian  meal  and  potatoes  which  I 
have  carried  on  my  back  seventeen  miles;  "  Indian 
offered  to  pay  a  part;  "  why  not  pay  the  whole?  I've 
dealt  with  you  like  a  brother;  I  've  heard  you  threat 
ened  to  take  my  life;  you  came  once  where  I  was 
fixing  a  boat  (I  've  been  informed)  on  purpose  to  kill 
me;  you  came  once  to  my  house  with  your  rifle  load 
ed  and  called  me  to  the  door  to  kill  me;  "  "yes;" 
"  why  do  you  want  to  hurt  me  ?  I  never  wanted  to 
hurt  you;  I  would  as  soon  kill  a  white  man  as  an  In 
dian;  I  would  not  kill  you  for  a  million  of  worlds;" 
Indian  asked  how  soon  he  would  come  to  the  Seventh 
lake;  said  "  You  must  never  come  there;  if  you  do 
you  never  come  back  again  alive;  we'.re  now  on 
Brown's  tract  and  out  of  the  way  of  all  law;  if  you 
kill  me  you  kill  me;  if  I  kill  you  I  kill  you;  "  Foster 
said,  "  I  agree  to  no  such  thing;  am  afraid  of  your 
sly  Indian  way  of  fighting;  I  have  heard  that  you 
threatened  to  kill  several  at  Lake  Pleasant;  and  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Lyon;  I  shall  complain  of  you 
and  have  you  taken  care  of;  I  am  afraid  of  my  life;" 
Indian  said,  "  Complain  and  be  d — d,  me  meet  you;  " 
Indian  threatened  to  kill  David  Foster  (son  of  defend 
ant)  if  he  came  to  the  Racket  lake;  Indian  started  to 
the  door,  took  up  his  tomahawk;  prisoner  stepped 
into  the  house,  and  Indian  let  his  tomahawk  drop 
after  prisoner  was  out  of  sight. 

Cross-examined. — Is   a   son-in-law   of    defendant; 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  229 

resides  at  Auburn;  went  there  last  July;  don't  recol 
lect  the  amount  of  flour,  &c.,  that  Foster  called  over; 
when  items  were  mentioned  once  he  said  it  was  cheap 
enough;  Indian  spoke  tolerably  good  English;  some- 
broken;  witness  staid  but  eight  or  ten  days  on  tract 
after  this;  David  left  after  October;  witness  advised 
defendant  to  come  away;  he  said  he  should  come  as 
soon  as  he  possibly  could;  for  he  considered  his  life 
in  danger  every  moment;  Seventh  lake  is  some  fifteen 
miles  from  Foster's;  Indian  had  a  squaw  and  two 
children;  squaw  went  back  to  St.  Regis;  defendant 
and  wTife,  son  and  son's  wife,  witness  and  his  wife, 
and  Johnson  were  in  the  house,  and  three  children, 
two  of  David's  and  one  of  witness's. 

Direct  testimony  resumed. — Foster  said,  "  as  soon 
as  I  can  get  the  old  lady  away,  I  shall  go;"  she  was 
rather  feeble;  she  was  not  able  to  go  with  witness; 
wanted  to  wait  till  sleighing;  David's  wife  was  un 
well;  a  numb  palsy  affection. 

ABNER  BLACKMAN,  sworn. — Knew  the  Indian  named 
and  Foster;  Foster  was  narrating  a  story  about  In 
dian's  coming  to  his  house;  he  said  the  "  Indian  had 
loaded  his  rifle  and  come  to  his  door  to  shoot  him; 
Indian  said  it  was  well  for  him  that  he  was  not  at 
home,  as  he  came  to  shoot  him;  he  would  have  put  a 
bullet  through  him;  he  (Foster)  would  have  seen  his 
God  in  two  minutes;"  witness  told  him  that  the  In 
dian  had  told  him  the  same  thing,  as  to  his  coming 

20 


230  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

to  his  house  to  shoot  him;  has  heard  the  Indian 
threaten  the  life  of  Foster. 

Cross  examined. — Had  a  conversation  with  Foster; 
he  said  the  Indian  had  threatened  to  kill  him  a  good 
many  times;  and  indifferent  ways;  he  had  spoke  of 
not  being  afraid  of  Indian,  but  he  was  really  afraid? 
and  looked  behind  every  old  log  and  bush  expecting 
the  Indian  ready  to  kill  him;  he  trembled  as  he 
walked;  said  he  would  have  been  glad  to  have  got 
away,  if  he  could  conveniently;  but  his  property  and 
family  were  there;  his  son's  wife  unwell,  and  could 
not  be  moved  then;  he  said  like  this,  "  he  had  a  gun 
that  had  always  told  him  the  truth,  and  he  had  pushed 
a  bull  off  the  bridge;"  he  said  they  came  down  to  his 
house  for  him  to  go  up;  he  went,  and  found  Waters 
in  the  canoe;  no  one  dared  to  take  hold  of  him;  he 
took  hold  of  him  and  pulled  him  up;  did  not  tell  him 
how  the  Indian  got  killed,  nor  that  he  killed  him; 
was  talking  about  hunting  and  killing  deer  when  he 
said  he  pushed  the  bull  off  the  bridge;  and,  perhaps, 
about  the  Indian  also;  were  not  talking  about  the 
Indian  when  he  said  his  gun  always  told  the  truth; 
has  seen  Indian  at  witness's  house;  heard  Indian  say 
he  belonged  to  St.  Regis  tribe;  witness  lives  in  Greig, 
Lewis  county;  conversation  in  that  town  on  witness's 
way  to  and  from  Herreshoff's;  Greig  is  nineteen  or 
twenty  miles  from  HerreshofT  place. 

JOSHUA  HARRIS,  sworn. — Lives  in  Grieg,  Lewis 
county;  was  a  magistrate  in  September  last.  The 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  231 

defence  offered  to  prove  by  this  witness  that  Foster 
applied  to  him  to  get  a  warrant,  and  complained  that 
he  was  in  fear  of  losing  his  life;  that  the  Indian  had 
threatened  to  kill  him  repeatedly;  had  intimated 
several  times  that  Indian  had  threatened  to  kill  him. 

Witness. — Has  conversed  with  Indian;  has  heard 
him  say  repeatedly,  he  would  kill  Foster;  "  if  Foster 
goes  up  to  Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth  or  Seventh  lake  again, 
he  will  never  return  alive  if  I  can  catch  him  there;" 
the  Indian  roused  up,  "  Foster,  how  Ynany  deer  you 
kill  ?"  "  Don't  know."  «  D— m  him,  I'll  pile  him  up 
with  my  deer  by-and-by;"  at  another  time  in  harvest, 

he  said,  "  I'll  serve  Foster,  d d  old  cuss,  as  I  have 

a  number  of  the  d' d  Yankees,  I  will  take  his  life, 

or  butcher  him;"  the  threats  were  often  repeated;  he 
would  rave  against  Foster. 

Cross  examined. — Indian  was  there  a  year  ago  last 
October,  and  often,  until  killed,  shantied  [lived  in  a 
shantee  or  hut]  on  witness's  farm,  forty  rods  from 
house,  about  two  months;  was  about  twenty-eight 
years  of  age;  has  conversed  with  Foster  since  the 
death;  he  intimated  as  much  as  though  he  had  killed 
the  Indian ;  said  "  he  was  not  guilty  of  shedding  inno 
cent  blood;  what  he  had  done  was  done  in  his  own 
defence;"  he  was  talking  about  his  being  taken  for 
killing  the  Indian,  and  his  trial. 

ASA  BROWN,  sworn. — Knows  Foster;  knew  Indian; 
has  heard  the  Indian  threaten  the  life  of  Foster;  In 
dian  came  to  witness's  house  in  Greig,  Lewis  county, 


232  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

in  the  fore  part  of  August,  a  year  ago;  between  the 
first  and  twentieth;  he  said  he  did  not  want  to  say 

much  about  old  Foster;  he  d d  old  cuss;  Mrs. 

Foster  good  old  woman;  he  went  on  and  stated  how 
well  she  had  used  him,  and  squaw,  and  little  pap- 
pooses;  then  he  said,  after  the  favors,  "  old  Foster, 
d — m  old  cuss,  want  to  make  me  pay  for  it;"  he  said 
he  should  not;  he  meant  to  kill  old  Foster;  "me  get 
good  rifle;  me  shoot  straight;  me  put  ball  right 
through  the  heart."  I  said,  "  Peter,  you  must  not  talk 
such  language  as  that,  for  you  are  liable  to  be  had  up 
and  confined."  "  Me  care  not  a  d — m  for  that;  no 
law  on  Brown's  tract."  Said  I,  if  there  is  no  law  on 
the  tract,  there  is  here,  and  will  put  you  where  the 
dogs  wont  bite  you.  "Me  no  care  for  dat;  me  kill 
d — m  old  cuss."  Witness  advised  him  to  peace  with 
Foster.  "  Mrs.  Foster  use  me  well ;  good  woman ; 
Foster  d — m  old  cuss;  put  ball  through  his  heart." 
Never  saw  him  alive  after  that. 

Cross  examined. — Saw  Foster  about  two  weeks 
after  this,  and  told  him  what  the  Indian  said;  Foster 
replied,  "  If  the  Indian  would  come  in  sight,  and 
shoot  quicker  than  he  did,  then  he  (Foster)  would  be 
killed;  if  not,  not;  he  had  a  rifle  that  never  told  a  lie; 
and  said  he  had  heard  a  great  many  such  threats  from 
the  Indian,  and  felt  in  danger  of  losing  his  life  when 
traversing  the  forest  for  his  traps:  he  said  his  eyes 
were  continually  on  the  watch,  for  fear  the  Indian 
was  skulking  about  to  shoot  him;"  has  seen  Foster 


TRAPPERS  or  NEW  YORK.  233 

but  once  since  the  Indian's  death;  heard  no  confession 
of  killing. 

WILLARD  JOHNSON,  sworn. — Knew  Foster  and  In 
dian;  resided  on  Brown's  tract;  has  heard  Indian 
threaten  Foster  to  kill  him;  the  first  difficulty  was 
about  a  boat;  Foster  said,  "  you  should  not  do  so;  if 
you  want  a  boat,  ask  for  it."  Indian  said,  "  d — m 
old  Foster,  I'll  put  the  ball  there,"  pointing  his  finger 
in  center  of  his  forehead.  The  next,  Foster  had  let 
him  have  things,  and  Peter  refused  to  pay;  about  two 
or  three  months  after,  can't  say  exactly,  Foster  said, 
"  this  is  the  usage  I  get,  I  backed  in  these  things  and 
paid  my  money  for  them."  Waters  flourished  his 
hatchet;  Foster  went  in  quick,  and  if  he  had  not,  he 
would  have  struck  the  hatchet  between  Foster's 
shoulders.  Again,  the  morning  before  Waters  was 
shot,  witness  was  at  his  own  place,  a  mile  from  Fos 
ter's,  when  he  saw  Waters;  talked  with  him;  said 
"  go  along  with  me  and  make  peace  with  Foster;" 
61  old  Foster  I  will  kill,  if  I  can  get  him  out  to  shoot 
him.  I'll  butcher  him  in  his  bed ;  I  know  which  side 
of  the  bed  he  lays;  and  if  you  hear  anything  there, 
don't  you  come  nigh,  you  may  get  hurt;  old  woman 
is  good;  I  wont  hurt  her;  but  you  must  not  come  nigh 
me."  [The  Indian  requested  Johnson  to  tell  Mrs. 
Foster  to  keep  her  own  side  in  the  bed.] 

Cross  examined. — Thinks  he  told  it  to  Foster  the 
night  before  the  killing;  every  time  witness  saw  Wa 
ters,  he  would  enquire  when  he  was  going  home;  and 
90* 


234  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

witness  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it;  an  Indian 
is  an  Indian;  Foster  went  to  swear  the  peace;  Indian 
was  a  crabbed  sort  of  a  fellow;  had  no  conversation 
with  Foster  since  Indian  was  killed. 

The  counsel  for  the  prisoner  offered  to  prove  threats 
of  the  Indian  to  kill  Foster,  by  several  other  persons, 
but  was  overruled,  and  the  defence  rested. 

For  the  prosecution. 

WILLISTON  TYLER,  sworn. — Was  at  Foster's  the 
evening  before  killing;  he  said  the  Indian  had  threat 
ened  his  life;  but  he  was  not  afraid  of  the  d d 

black  blood,  unless  it  were  by  secret  revenge;  he  said 
if  he  could  catch  him  out  any  where,  he  would  put 
him  where  the  dogs  would  not  bite  him;  they  were 
talking  about  his  complaining  against  Indian ;  he  said 
it  would  be  of  no  use:  he  would  go  into  the  woods 
before  they  could  take  him;  but  if  he  should  catch 
him  out,  he  would  put  him  where  the  dogs  wouldn't 
bite  him;  in  going  back  up  to  the  point  where  killed, 
witness  asked  the  question  whether  he  was  standing 
or  sitting  the  moment  he  was  shot;  Foster  replied, 
"  Sitting  down ;  why  I  say  he  was  sitting  down  is, 
that  they  always  did  sit  down,  and  never  stand  up  in 
a  bark  canoe;"  Foster  went  to  the  place  where  In 
dian  was  killed;  they  covered  up  Indian;  went  back 
next  morning  and  re-covered  it  [the  grave] ;  might 
have  been  four  hours  from  time  witness  saw  Foster 
last  to  killing. 

Cross   examined. — Wood  told  Foster,  "  I've  bad 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  235 

news  to  tell  you;  Peter's  dead;"  Foster  asked,  "  Did 
he  die  in  a  fit  ?"  Wood  informed  Foster  that  he  was 
shot  and  at  what  place,  in  answer  to  his  inquiry;  pre 
sumes  they  generally  sit  in  a  bark  canoe. 

DAVID  CHASE,  sworn. — Don't  remember  every  item 
of  the  scuffle;  they  were  fixing  to  go  away  that  morn 
ing;  Foster  came  in  his  house;  said  "  Good  morning;" 
witness  was  busy  packing  up  things  to  go  away; 
Foster  was  eight  feet  from  a  small  fire  place;  witness 
about  ten  feet  away,  packing;  Indian  spoke,  but  don't 
know  what  he  said;  Foster  answered,  but  don't  re 
member  what;  Indian  pitched  upon  him  and  grabbed 
Foster;  witness  rose  up  and  took  Foster's  rifle  and 
-set  it  up  side  of  the  house,  about  twelve  feet  from 
where  they  clenched;  got  back  and  Indian  had  thrown 
Foster;  witness  got  his  right  hand,  and  Wood  his 
left  hand,  and  told  Indian  to  let  loose;  Indian  rose  up; 
one  called  for  his  tomahawk  and  the  other  for  his 
rifle;  Foster  went  out,  and  witness  said  stay  and  get 
your  things;  he  did  so;  witness  went  into  the  house, 
got  his  hat  and  rifle,  and  gave  them  to  him;  after  this 
Foster  said,  "  How  long  before  you  will  be  along  ?" 
As  witness  turned  to  go  back,  he  saw  blood  on  his 
own  hand;  this  was  pretty  early  in  the  morning;  it 
was  near  noon  when  the  shooting  happened;  between 
three  and  four  hours;  Indian,  Wood  and  witness  were 
going  trapping. 

Cross  examined. — Did  not  see  a  knife;  as  they  took 
them  apart,  Indian  was  talking  fast;  and  when  he 


236  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORE. 

came  back  he  was  cooled  down;  Wood  got  to  Indian 
and  Foster  first;  had  no  conversation  with  Foster 
since. 

NELSON  STIMPSON,  sworn. — Saw  the  Indian  clench 
Foster;  Foster  went  into  the  house  and  spoke  to  Chase 
and  Wood;  asked  them  what  time  they  would  be  up 
the  lake;  Indian  "  How  many  times  more  will  you 

call  me  d d  liar  ?"  Foster,  "  Do  you  want  to 

pick  a  quarrel  with  me  this  morning,  you  black  son 
of  a  bitch  ?"  The  Indian  sprang  and  clenched  him, 
and  jammed  the  door  too,  and  witness  saw  no  more  of 
it;  saw  Foster  as  he  came  out;  he  told  witness  to  go 
down  to  the  forge;  four  hours  from  time  of  scuffle  to 
killing;  had  some  conversation  with  Foster  coming 
from  tract  next  day. 

FRANCIS  E.  SPINNER,  sworn.  There  was  some  con 
versation  when  Foster  came  down  from  Martinsburg; 
he  said  something;  don't  think  he  said  he  killed  him; 
witness  advised  him  to  say  nothing;  he  said  there 
would  probably  be  no  dispute  about  the  facts;  there 
would  be  proof  enough;  thinks  he  said  the  Indian 
suspected  something,  and  put  up  his  hands;  he  said 
he  examined  the  body,  and  in  examination  found  he 
was  shot  with  two  balls;  he  said  his  rifle  never  told 
a  lie;  don't  know  whether  this  latter  observation  was 
in  that  conversation;  he  said  they  were  afraid  to  take 
care  of  the  body,  and  he  went  up;  found  it  was  a 
centre  shot;  a  hole  under  one  arm,  close  up,  and  two 
on  the  opposite  side;  is  not  clear,  but  he  may  have 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  237 

said  that  his  arm  must  have  been  thrown  up,  or  the 
ball  could  not  have  entered  there. 

The  testimony  having  closed,  Mr.  HURLBUT  opened 
the  defence  to  the  jury,  and  his  associates  SPENCER 
and  HACKLEY  summed  up.  The  cause  is  said,  by  spec 
tators,  to  have  been  very  ably  conducted  on  both  sides. 

Judge  DENIO,  who  was  from  another  county,  a 
stranger  to  the  parties  and  unbiased  by  the  prejudices 
which  made  either  for  or  against  the  prisoner,  deter 
mined  to  try  him  fairly  and  impartially.  There  can  be 
no  greater  virtue  in  any  tribunal,  than  that  of  impar 
tiality  in  the  administration  of  justice.  Indeed,  when 
other  motives  influence  judicial  decisions  than  those 
of  equity,  and  power  is  warped  to  favor,  rapine  and 
anarchy  stalk  the  earth  unbridled,  honesty  wears 
weeds,  and  disinterested  benevolence  folds  herself  up 
in  a  garment  of  sackcloth. 

The  following  is  a  brief  memorandum  made  by  Mr. 
Hurlbut,  of  Judge  Denio's  charge  to  the  jury. 

"  The  court  advise  the  jury,  that  the  law  applies  to 
the  region  of  country  where  the  offence  was  com 
mitted.  The  law  pervades  every  section  of  the  coun 
try.  There  is  no  place  where  crime  is  not  cognizable. 

"  In  regard  to  the  race  of  men  to  which  the  de 
ceased  belonged,  when  the  question  is,  what  will 
authorize  the  taking  of  the  life  of  such  an  one?  we 
answer,  no  one  can  take  such  life  without  such  rea 
sons  as  would  authorize  the  taking  of  the  life  of  any 
other  human  being. 


238  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

"  There  are  two  cases  of  killing  which  is  not  mur 
der.  First,  when  there  is  killing  in  a  sudden  affray: 
it  is  manslaughter.  If,  at  the  time  of  the  rencontre 
in  the  morning,  before  his  passion  cooled,  the  prisoner 
had  shot  the  Indian,  it  would  have  been  manslaughter 
only.  But  if  his  passion  cooled,  and  contrivance  or 
malice  was  aroused,  it  would  have  been  murder. 
Second,  a  man  has  a  right  to  kill  another  in  self  de 
fence.  The  court  would  not  abridge  that  privilege. 
If  Wood's  account  be  true,  if  the  Indian  came  with 
his  knife  drawn  and  offered  a  fatal  blow,  and  Foster 
had  not  time  to  retreat,  he  would  have  been  author 
ized  to  shoot  him  dead.  That  would  have  been  a 
legitimate  case  of  self  defence.  The  law  of  this 
country  is  not,  when  a  man  is  out  of  irnmedia.te  dan 
ger,  but  has  a  secret  enemy,  that  he  has  a  right  to 
kill  him.  This  would  not  be  a  good  code  of  laws  if 
that  were  so.  In  a  state  of  nature,  it  would  have 
been  morally  right  to  have  taken  the  Indian's  life  in 
this  case.  The  principle  of  self  defence  applies  only 
to  the  case  of  present  attack  upon  the  accused.  If 
Foster  seriously  believed  he  was  right  and  justified, 
it  makes  no  difference  in  law,  morally  it  does. 

"  These  views  you  have  a  right  to  overlook.  You 
are  not  bound  to  pay  any  further  regard  to  this 
opinion,  than  the  superior  means  of  the  court  of  pos 
sessing  information  may  entitle  it  to." 

The  jury  retired. 

Before  the  trial  commenced,  Mr.  Kurlburt  received 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  239 

from  Foster  the  most  urgent  instructions  to  convict 
him  of  murder  or  acquit  him  altogether.  He  pro 
tested  against  being  found  guilty  of  manslaughter,  as 
he  dreaded  imprisonment,  even  for  the  shortest  term, 
worse  than  death. 

The  jury,  after  a  deliberation  of  two  hours,  returned 
into  court  with  a  verdict  of  acquittal.  As  they  entered 
and  took  their  seats,  the  "  cloud  of  witnesses  "  be 
came  hushed;  the  moment  was  one  of  intense  interest; 
and  to  so  great  a  tension  had  the  feelings  of  the  old 
gentleman  been  drawn  by  the  excitement  his  preca 
rious  fate  had  invoked,  that  his  spirit  seemed  hovering 
between  life  and  death. .  Says  Mr.  Hurlbut,  "  When 
the  jury  came  in  with  their  verdict,  he  was  insensible; 
and  it  was  with  some  difficulty  he  was  roused  to  con 
sciousness,  so  as  to  understand  the  verdict.  When 
the  words  not  guilty,  after  being  two  or  three  times 
repeated  to  him  by  his  counsel,  struck  his  senses 
fairly,  he  rose  up,  stretched  out  both  hands  wide  over 
the  heads  of  the  spectators,  and  exclaiming,  '  God 
bless  you  all !  God  Uess  the  people  ! '  rushed  out  of 
the  court  room,  and  strode  home  his  well  known  hun 
ter's  pony." 

A  murmur  of  applause  ran  through  the  crowd,  the 
sympathies  of  which  were  nearly  all  enlisted  in  his 
favor,  as  the  old  trapper  left  the  court  room  for  the 
street,  to  which  he  was  followed  by  scores  of  people 
of  all  ages,  anxious  to  offer  their  congratulations. 
At  Little  Falls,  great  was  the  rejoicing  and  clapping 


240  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

of  hands,  when  the  news  reached  that  place  that 
Foster  was  free;  indeed  his  enlargement  met  with 
one  universal  burst  of  approbation  throughout  the 
county.  Not  because  he  had  killed  a  poor  Indian, 
and  been  acquitted;  but  because  he  was  not  to  be 
hung  for  having  killed  a  man  in  his  own  defence,  as 
they  viewed  it.  There  can  remain  little  doubt,  when 
it  is  known  as  a  characteristic  of  the  red  man  that 
he  never  forgives  a  known  or  imagined  injury,  and 
seldom  a  grudge,  especially  one  he  has  determined  to 
punish  with  death,  but  that  he  would  have  killed 
Foster  "before  Christmas,"  if  Foster  had  not  slain 
him.*  But  we  leave  this  case  to  HIM  who  set  his 
own  mark  on  the  first  murderer,  Cain;  and  to  whoso 
mercy  Moses  was  subjected,  when  he  slew  and  con 
cealed  his  man  in  the  sands  of  Egypt. 

*The  celebrated  Joseph  Brant,  once  found  it  necessary  to  kill 
his  own  son.  The  latter  had  taken  umbrage  at  his  parent  for 
some  cause,  and  on  an  occasion,  pursued  him  with  a  knife,  bent 
on  his  destruction.  Brant  retreated  to  the  corner  of  a  room, 
armed  with  a  tomahawk;  and  satisfied  the  son  would  execute  his 
threats,  as  he  rushed  upon  him,  the  father  sunk  the  fatal  toma 
hawk  in  his  head. — Isaac  H.  Tiffany. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

About  the  time  of  Foster's  trial,  to  an  interrogatory 
from  the  Hon.  Charles  Gray,  whether  he  did  not  con 
sider  the  lives  of  the  white  hunters  as  greatly  endan 
gered,  when  he  directed  the  balls  between  them  only 
a  few  feet  apart,  which  penetrated  the  heart  of  his 
victim?  he  replied,  "  No,  not  at  all !  my  old  rifle 
never  made  so  great  a  miss  as  that! " 

Remarking  to  Maj.  Stoner  my  surprise,  that  Foster 
should  have  dared  to  fire  between  two  white  men  in 
a  changing  position  at  a  third  person,  the  old  Natty 
Bumpo  replied,  "Poh!  Foster  \vould  have  shot  the 
Indian's  eye  out  had  he  desired  to !  The  truth  is, 
either  of  us  could  send  a  bullet  just  about  where  we 
chose  to."  At  an  inanimate  and  fixed  target  they 
were  not  so  remarkably  celebrated  as  marksmen, 
but  give  them  game  moving  sufficiently  to  excite 
their  anxiety,  and  these  two  modern  Nimrods  may  be 
said  to  have  been  a  dead  shot.  At  a  reasonable  dis 
tance  they  would  have  driven  an  apple  every  time 
from  the  head  of  some  young  Tell,  and  scarcely  dis 
placed  a  hair,  provided  the  head  was  moving. 

When  a  sufficient  length  of  time  had  transpired 
after  this  Indian's  death  for  intelligence  of  it  to  go  to 

his  friends  near  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  a  brother-in- 
21 


242  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

law  of  his,  who  was  a  chief  .of  the  St.  Regis  tribe,, 
and  a  very  likely  man,  came  doAvn  to  Brown's  tract 
to  remove  his  sister.  He  said  the  deceased  was  at 
times  a  bad  fellow,  and  had  been  expelled  from  their 
tribe  for  some  misdemeanor.  He  had  even  threatened 
the  life  of  this  chief  more  than  once;  and  he  did  not 
express  any  regret  that  he  was  killed;  on  the  con 
trary.,  he  said  he  thought  Foster  was  justifiable  in 
taking  his  life  under  the  peculiar  circumstances. 
Drid's  squaw  was  present  when  the  body  was  brought 
down,  but  instead  of  manifesting  sorrow  she  smiled, 
and  with  a  pair  of  scissors  she  cut  out  a  piece  of  his 
blanket  or  shirt,  having  in  it  a  ball  hole,  and  placed 
it  carefully  away  in  a  work-pocket.  Her  brother  had 
the  body  taken  up  and  interred  in  Indian  style;  and 
before  its  reburial  he  cut  out  that  part  of  the 
blanket  having  the  remaining  bullet  holes  in  it; 
which  he  carried  home  with  him.  Foster  had  been 
sent  to  Martinsburg  before  this  Indian  arrived;  but 
previous  to  leaving  the  tract,  he  advised  the  members 
of  the  Foster  family  still  living  there,  to  leave  the 
place,  as  they  were  innocent  of  Drid's  death;  and  it 
was  possible  some  of  his  blood  might  attempt  to  re 
venge  his  death.  He  took  his  sister  and  her  children 
back  with  him,  that  he  might  provide  for  their  wants. 
After  the  death  of  Drid,  Foster  visited  Brown's 
tract  but  once.  He  feared  the  Indians  might  catch 
him  napping;  indeed  it  was  said  'that  several  were 
there  in  wait  for  him,  but  a  correspondent  who  says 


TRAPPEXS  OF  NEW  YORK.  243 

he  was  there  the  next  season,  saw  no  Indians.  Fos 
ter  removed  with  his  family  to  Boonville,  Oneida 
county.  From  thence  he  went  to  reside  for  several 
years  in  the  north  part  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
again  followed  his  favorite  pursuits.  His  mind  seemed 
never  at  rest  after  killing  this  Indian,  says  a  friend, 
and  he  would  not,  after  his  return  to  Boonsville  from 
Pennsylvania,  venture  out  of  doors  in  the  dark.  He 
died  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Edgerton,  his  son-in-law,  in 
the  western  part  of  Boonville  (now  Ava),  Oneida 
county,  in  March,  1841;  at  the  age  of  about  74  years. 
His  widow  died  at  the  residence  of  her  son,  Amos 
Foster,  in  Palatine  (near  Stone  Arabia),  Montgomery 
county,  in  December,  1844. 

It  is  the  belief  of  very  many  of  Foster's  acquaint 
ances,  that  Drid  was  not  the  only  Indian  with  whom 
he  had  had  a  fatal  rencontre.  The  following  story 
furnished  the  author  by  Mr.  Frederick  Petrie,  comes 
so  well  authenticated  and  corroborated,  that  there  can 
be  very  little  doubt  of  its  truth. 

Before  the  American  Revolution  there  dwelt  about 
two  miles  from  the  present  village  of  Little  Falls,  an 
Indian  named  Hess,  who  took  an  active  part  in  that 
contest  as  a  hireling  of  Britain;  and  who  undoubted 
ly  was  one  of  the  most  cruel  and  blood  thirsty  of  his 
race.  Some  ten  or  twelve  years  after  the  war,  this 
Indian  returned  to  his  former  hunting  grounds,  to  pro 
secute  his  favorite  employment.  A  country  inn  at 
this  period  was,  for  the  spread  of  knowledge  to  be 


244  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

smoked  in  and  watered,  a  kind  of  "  circulating  me 
dium,"  a  place  where  in  the  absence  of  our  now 
thousands  of  newspapers,  the  people  of  the  surround 
ing  country  met  to  learn  news  from  quidnuncs;  and 
as  Little  Falls,  with  possibly  her  dozen  (much  scat 
tered)  insignificant  dwellings,  was  then  a  place  of 
some  notoriety,  on  account  of  her  new  inland  locks, 
and  old  moss-clad  rocks,  the  bar-room  of  the  village 
one-story  tavern  became  the  place  where  all  the  clas 
sic  events  of  olden  time,  and  all  the  improvements  of 
modern  days,  particularly  those  which  aided  the  river 
sailor  in  navigating  the  far  famed  Mohawk,  were, 
sans  parliamentary  forms,  freely  discussed. 

On  a  certain  occasion  Foster  met  the  Indian  Hess 
in  the  bar-room  of  the  Little  Falls  tavern,  and  observ 
ing;  that  his  dress  a-la-mode  was  that  of  a  hunter,  he 

o  2 

attempted  to  engage  him  in  a  conversation.  He 
feigned  ignorance  of  the  English  language,  however, 
until  his  white  competitor  in  beaver  skins  oiled  his 
tongue  freely  at  the  bar,  when  lo!  the  seal  upon  his 
lips  was  broken,  and  he  spoke  English  tolerably  well. 
The  two  hunters  soon  after  left  the  village  and  tra 
veled  some  distance  together,  when  the  conversation 
turned  upon  Revolutionary  scenes:  boasting  of  his 
individual  exploits  on  the  frontiers  of  New  York, 
the  Indian  exhibited  a  tobacco  pouch.  "This," 
said  the  crafty  warrior,  "  me  got  in  the  war.  Me 
kill  white  woman;  rip  open  belly;  find  young  pap- 
poose;  skin  him  some;  make  pouch!"  He  also 


TUAPFEUS  OF  NEW  YORK.  245 

opened  the  box  in  the  breech  of  his  rifle,  and  exhibit^ 
ed  some  evidence  he  there  carried  of  the  number  of 
prisoners  and  human  scalps  taken  by  him  in  the  war; 
the  tally  ran  up  to  the  almost  incredible  number  of 
forty-two.  Just  before  parting,  the  Indian  inquired 
of  Foster  his  name,  and  on  hearing  it  he  exclaimed, 
"  Ha  !  Nat  Foster!  you  bad  man;  you  kill  Indians  /" 

On  the  Indian's  making  the  recognition  of  him, 
Foster  thought  he  detected  in  his  look  and  manner  a 
lurking  devil  that  seemed  to  say,  "  if  ever  you  fall  in 
my  power  you  will  feel  it;"  and  hearing  himself 
called  an  Indian  /cillery  he  believed  the  old  hunter,  if 
opportunity  presented,  would  not  scruple  to  take  his 
life.  The  boast  of  murdered  innocence  drew  a  frown 
across  the  sunburnt  brow  and  stern  features  of  the 
young  hunter,  that  seemed  to  send  back  defiance  to 
the  red  man's  look  of  meditated  death.  They  parted 
soon  after,  and  if  not  as  friends,  certainly  not  as 
avowed  enemies;  but  each  no  doubt  felt  apprehensive, 
that  a  second  interview  might  not  terminate  so  for 
tunately  for  them  both;  and  certain  it  is,  that  one  at 
least  resolved  not  to  be  over-reached  by  the  other. 

Not  long  after  the  above  incidents  transpired,  Fos 
ter  was  threading  the  forest  alone,  in  the  northerly 
part  of  Herkimer  county,  in  the  pursuit  of  game.  In 
a  secluded  spot,  he  came  unexpectedly  upon  and  shot 
a  moose  cow.  While  securing  the  noble  game,  its 
mate,  a  most  ferocious  bull,  attracted  to  the  spot  by 

the  bellowing  of  the  dam,  attacked  him  with  great 
21* 


246  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

fury.  In  a  dodging  fight,  the  hunter  was  obliged  to 
make  some  half  a  dozen  shots  in  rapid  succession. 
Foster  reloaded  his  rifle  before  he  ventured  to  ap 
proach  an  animal  that  had  been  so  tenacious  of  life, 
although  dying  (he  seldom  changed  his  position  in 
the  woods  without  a  charge  in  his  gun);  and  while 
advancing  to  it,  he  was  startled  to  hear  a  footstep 
within  pistol  shot  distance  of  him,  and  was  possibly 
not  less  surprised  to  find  in  the  person  of  his  new 
visitant,  the  muscular  form  of  the  Indian  Hess. 

Supposing,  as  is  presumed,  that  Foster's  rifle  was 
unloaded,  his  recent  acquaintance,  who  now  experi 
enced  no  difficulty  in  "  murdering  the  King's  Eng 
lish,"  at  the  end  of  a  whoop  that  told  credibly  for  his 
lungs  and  the  absence  of  balsams,  shouted  aloud, 
"  Now  Foster  me  got  you  !  me  kill  you  now  !  "  Be 
tween  Hess  and  his  intended  victim  there  was  a 
marsh,  over  which  was  a  fallen  tree.  Mounting  the 
log  to  approach  the  white  hunter,  with  uplifted  toma 
hawk  and  death-boding  mien,  the  report  of  a  rifle 
again  echoed  amid  the  fir-tops  of  the  forest,  and  up 
sprang  the  Indian  high  in  air  from  the  log.  A  bullet 
had  plowed  its  way  through  his  heart,  and  writh  a 
guttural  groan,  the  dark  warrior  fell  dead  upon  the 
marsh.  Lest  Hess  might  not  be  unattended  in  the 
forest,  the  eagle-eyed  marksman,  whose  rifle  had  not 
only  been  quickly  loaded  but  quickly  discharged, 
stamped  the  carcase  of  his  victim  deep  into  the  mud. 
Dark  mystery  hung  over  the  fate  of  this  lone  hunter 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  247 

for  years.  Many  remembered  that  his  disappearance 
was  sudden  and  unexpected ;  and  others  that  they  had 
heard  Foster  say,  shortly  after  his  interview  with  him 
at  Little  Falls,  that  he  had  met  him  once,  and  only 
once  after  that  time.  He  confidentially  communicated, 
many  years  after,  to  Jacob  I.  Christman,  with  whom 
he  was  hunting,  the  fate  of  this  unfortunate  savage, 
for  whom 

No  solemn  bell's  metallic  tongue, 

E'er  toll'd  its  death  note  on  the  breeze ; 

Zephyrs  alone  for  him  their  requiem  gently 

murmur 'd,  and  among 
The  plumed  and  bowing  trees. 

Foster,  although  a  man  of  undoubted  veracity, 
when  speaking  of  his  own  exploits,  made  use  of 
aphorisms,  or  such  unexplained  expressions,  as  left 
them  a  mystery  to  his  auditors.  This  was  particu 
larly  the  case  where  legal  advantage  could  be  taken 
of  his  sayings  and  doings;  hence,  it  is  impossible  to 
arrive  with  positive  certainty,  as  is  believed,  at  some 
of  the  most  interesting  incidents  in  his  life.  On  this 
point,  says  a  correspondent,  "  Foster  would  occasion 
ally  tell  some  of  his  exploits,  but  in  such  a  way  you 
could  hardly  guess  his  meaning.  For  instance,  "  The 
best  shot  I  ever  made,  I  got  two  beaver,  one  otter, 
and  fifteen  martin  skins;  but  I  took  the  filling  out  of 
a  blanket  to  do  it  !'  And  again,  '  1  was  once  in  the 
woods,  and  saw  an  Indian  lay  down  to  drink  at  a 
brook;  something  was  the  matter;  he  dropped  his  face 


248  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

into  the  water  and  drowned;  I  thought  I  might  as 
well  take  his  fur,  gun,  blanket,  &c.,  as  leave  them 
there  to  spoil.'  ' 

Says  the  same  correspondent,  "  On  his  way  to  jail, 
I  saw  Foster;  he  said  to  me,  '  Brother  B.,  I  am  the 
man  that  pushed  the  bull  off  the  bridge  ;  I  never  liked 
Indians  /'  While  confined  at  Herkimer,  he  was  ask 
ed  how  he  fared?  He  replied,  "  0,  very  well,  only  I 
don't  like  to  be  stall  fed  among  gentlemen  !  " 

About  the  time  of  Foster's  trial,  while  some  friends 
were  speaking  of  his  success  as  a  hunter  and  extra 
ordinary  skill  as  a  marksman,  he  said  the  greatest 
shot  he  ever  made  was  at  otters,  securing  eighteen  of 
their  valuable  pelts  at  a  single  shot.  Although  the 
fame  of  the  (then)  old  hunter  w?as  very  great,  this 
story  seemed  to  stagger  the  faith  of  his  most  confi 
dential  auditors;  and  when  one  ventured  to  express  a 
doubt  as  to  the  truth  of  the  assertion,  he  explained  as 
follows.  In  a  hunting  excursion  he  had  once  fallen 
in  with  an  Indian,  who  carried  upon  his  back  eigh 
teen  otter  skins;  that  he  had  no  intention  of  harming 
the  Indian;  did  not  know  that  he  had  killed  him;  but 
that  he  never  let  an  otter  skin  escape  him  alive.  He 
fired;  they  all  fell;  he  picked  them  up  and  came  away. 

In  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  Foster's  sight  began 
to  fail  him.  His  brother,  Shubael  Foster,  who  is 
many  years  younger  than  Nathaniel,  says  he  was  deer 
hunting  with  the  latter,  not  many  years  before  his 
death,  in  St.  Lawrence  county,  on  the  Oswegat- 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  249 

chie,*  in  which  excursion  they  killed  twenty.  Informant 
shot  several  before  his  brother  got  any;  when  they 
oame  together,  the  latter  procured  a  good  slice  of 
venison,  saying  that  if  he  could  get  a  piece  of  deer  into 
him,  he  could  see  to  shoot  them.  During  this  hunt, 
they  one  day  cornered  a  flock  between  them  and  a 
ledge,  exposing  the  innocent  creatures  to  their  cross 
fire.  They  drove  the  terrified  animals  from  one  to 
the  other  until  they  secured  five  of  their  number,  four 
of  which  fell  before  the  old  rifle  of  the  senior  hunter. 
So  much  for  eating  a  good  steak  of  venison. 

Foster  and  Stoner  were  both  remarkably  expert  at 
loading  their  rifles,  but  the  former  most  so,  at  least  if 
it  became  necessary  to  make  several  shots  in  hot 
haste,  and  at  a  short  distance.  Foster  has  been  known 
repeatedly,  upon  a  wager,  to  commence  with  his  rifle 
unloaded  and  fire  it  off. six  times  in  one  minute.  This, 
to  the  reader,  if  a  modern  marksman  and  unaccus 
tomed  to  taking  game  upon  foot,  seems  incredible, 
but  it  is  nevertheless  true.  While  hunting  he  usually 
wore  three  rifle  balls  between  the  fingers  of  each 
hand,  and  invariably  thus  in  the  left  hand,  if  he  had 

*  Os-we-gatchie  or  Ogh-swa-gatchie,  an  Indian  name,  the  his 
torian  JAMES  MACATTLEY,  informed  the  author,  which  signifies 
going  or  coming  round  a  hill.  The  great  bend  in  the  Oswegat* 
chie  river  (or  the  necessity  of  it),  on  the  borders  of  Lewis  county, 
originated  its  significant  name.  An  Indian  tribe,  bearing  the 
name  of  the  river,  once  lived  upon  its  banks  •,  but  its  fate,  like 
that  of  many  sister  tribes,  has  been,  to  melt  away  before  the  pr<K 
gressive  step  of  the  Anglo-Saxon... 


250  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

that  number  of  balls  with  him.  He  had  a  large  bony 
hand,  and  having  worn  such  jewels  a  long  time,  they 
had  mad 2  for  themselves  cavities  in  the  flesh,  which 
concealed  them  almost  as  effectually  as  they  were 
when  hid  in  the  moulds  in  which  they  were  run  from 
the  fused  lead.  The  superficial  observer  would  not 
have  noticed  them. 

Foster's  quick  shooting  was  in  the  days  of  flint 
locks.  He  had  a  powder  flask  with  a  charger,  and 
with  six  well  pared  balls  between  his  fingers,  he 
would  pour  in  the  powder,  drop  in  a  ball  that  would 
just  roll  down  without  a  patch,  and  striking  the 
breech  of  his  gun  with  his  hand,  it  was  primed;  soon 
after  which  the  bullet  was  speeding  to  its  mark. 
These  rapid  discharges  could  only  be  made  at  a  short 
distance,  as  to  make  long  shots  it  became  necessary 
to  patch  the  balls  and  drive  them  down  with  a  rod, 
the  latter  being  dispensed  with  in  the  former  case. 

Foster  would  make  his  six  shots,  so  as  to  kill  so 
many  men,  within  one  minute,  at  a  distance  not  ex 
ceeding  ten  rods.  A  regiment  of  such  riflemen,  in 
close  action,  would  soon  decide  the  fate  of  a  battle. 

In  the  second  -American  war  with  Great  Britain, 
the  following  incident,  says  Shubael  Foster,  took 
place  in  Manheim,  Herkimer  county.  A  regiment 
of  riflemen,  under  Col.  FORSYTH,  passed  through  that 
town  on  their  way  from  the  Mohawk  valley  to  the 
military  lines  between  New- York  and  Canada,  and 
encamped  there  over  night  to  wash  their  clothes. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  251 

The  celebrity  of  Foster,  as  a  marksman,  coming  to 
the  ears  of  Col.  Forsyth,  as  the  hunter  was  in  the 
vicinity,  he  had  him  called  to  the  camp.  The  most 
expert  rifleman  in  the  regiment  was  a  man  named 
Robinson,  from  South  Carolina.  The  colonel  was 
desirous  of  seeing  whether  Foster  or  Robinson  could 
make  the  most  effective  shots  in  a  minute,  at  a  tar 
get  ten  rods  off,  each  commencing  with  unloaded 
rifles.  They  began  to  load  at  a  given  signal,  and 
Foster  sent  six  bullets  into  the  target  within  the 
minute;  his  competitor  putting  the  sixth  bullet  into 
his  piece,  as  that  of  his  own  rifle  sped  to  the  mark. 
The  whole  regiment  was  astonished  to  see  their  fellow 
member — able,  as  was  supposed,  to  make  the  most 
shots  in  a  given  time  of  any  man  in  the  world — fairly 
beaten  by  a  New-York  trapper.  A  murmur  of  ap 
plause  ran  through  the  ranks,  and  Foster  at  once 
became  a  lion  in  the  camp.  Surprised  at  the  unex 
pected  skill  of  a  New-York  woodsman,  and  anxious 
to  secure  his  services,  Col.  Forsyth  offered  Foster 
thirty  dollars  a  month  to  join  his  regiment,  with  the 
complimentary  assurance  that  he  should  eat  at  his  own 
table;  but  as  Foster  did  not  approve  of  the  war,  he 
could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  adopt  the  life  of  a 
soldier. 

When  hunting,  Foster  would  make  his  camp  in 
forty-five  minutes,  where  the  snow  was  a  foot  deep. 
He  usually  set  up  two  crotches,  laid  a  pole  across 
them,  and  others  from  thence  to  the  ground  upon  the 


252  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

sides  and  one  end;  covering  the  whole  with  hemlock 
boughs.  In  front  of  the  open  end,  for  his  own  com 
fort  and  security  against  wild  beasts,  he  built  a  good 
fire.  Provisions  placed  under  his  head  for  a  pillow 
at  night,  were  often  frozen  hard  in  the  morning.  In 
cold  weather,  he  carried  a  blanket,  strapped  upon  his 
shoulders  as  a  knapsack.  He  usually  wore  a  hat,  but 
at  times  a  cap,  and  uniformly  a  coat  when  hunting; 
over  his  shoulders  were  strapped  a  powder  horn  and 
bullet  pouch,  of  sufficient  dimensions  to  warrant  a 
lengthy  hunt.  He  was  always  very  careful  to  have 
a  pocket  compass  with  him  when  in  the  forest. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Since  the  preceding  chapters  were  written,  Col. 
DANIEL  C.  HENDERSON,  of  Norway,  has  kindly  furnish 
ed  me  with  some  interesting  memoranda  in  the  life  of 
Jonathan  Wright,  a  hunter  previously  named;  and 
several  incidents  worthy  of  notice,  of  several  others  of 
like  craft,  who  followed  trapping  many  years  ago  on 
and  contiguous  to  Brown's  tract.  From  Henderson's 
manuscript  I  glean  the  following  facts. 

Jonathan  Wright,  or  Jock,  as  he  was  called  in  the 
wilderness,  was  a  native  of  Hinsdale,  Cheshire  coun 
ty,  New  Hampshire;  and  of  respectable  parentage. 
He  was  about  five  feet  ten  inches  in  height,  rather 
stoutly  built,  with  a  sallow  complexion.  In  the  latter 
part  of  his  life,  and  when  known  to  my  correspond 
ent,  he  had  a  very  stooping  gait,  and  a  walk  pecu 
liarly  his  own;  lifting  his  feet  high  as  though 
treading  upon  something  light.  His  peculiarity  of 
motion  was  no  doubt  acquired  by  carrying,  as  silently 
as  possible,  heavy  burthens  upon  his  shoulders  in  the 
forest,  such  as  traps,  wrild  game,  provisions,  canoes, 
&c.  He  had  a  keen  eye  shaded  by  heavy  brows;  and 
upon  the  whole  was  rather  good  looking.  He  was  a 
man  of  few  words,  but  they  were  pithy  and  uttered 

with  energy.     His  education  was  such  as  the  com- 
22 


254  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

mon  schools  of  New  England  afforded  at  that  early 
day,  he  being  a  school-boy  just  before  the  Revolu 
tion. 

But  little  is  known  of  Wright's  youthful  days,  ex 
cept  that  he  was  rather  eccentric;  and  early  evinced 
a  disposition  to  be  alone  in  the  woods,  with  his  dog 
and  gun.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  had,  in  the  pur 
suit  of  wild  game  and  fur,  reconnoitrad  the  northerly 
part  of  his  native  state,  knowing  more,  doubtless,  of 
its  topography  than  of  its  improvements.  When  our 
Revolutionary  difficulties  began,  he  was  found  among 
the  champions  of  liberty;  and  five  days  before  the 
Bunker  Hill  battle  he  arrived  at  the  American  camp 
near  Boston,  accompanied  by  a  neighbor  named 
MofFatt;  both  armed  cap-a-pie  for  action.  He  was 
a  volunteer  under  the  brave  Prescott,  to  aid  in  forti 
fying  Bunker  hill  the  night  before  the  battle,  in  which 
he  took  an  active  part.  When  Wright  got  back  to 
his  quarters  in  the  evening,  almost  exhausted,  he 
heard  a  call  for  a  guard  to  prevent  surprise  from  the 
enemy,  "  There  's  no  danger  of  that,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  the  rascals  have  enough  to  do  to  dress  their  shins 
and  wrap  up  their  fingers  for  the  next  twelve  hours, 
without  beating  up  our  quarters.  I  shall  sleep  for  the 
next  ten  hours  without  fear." 

The  reveille  and  tattoo  savored  too  much  of  re 
straint  for  the  tameless  spirit  of  a  hunter,  and  tiring 
of  camp  monotony  Wright  returned  home,  and  did 
not  again  join  the  army  until  Arnold's  retreat  from 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  255 

Quebec  to  Ticonderoga;  when  he  there  enlisted  under 
Capt.  Whitcomb;  preferring  to  perform  scouting  or 
other  hazardous  duty.  Capt.  W.  had  been  accused 
of  shooting  Major  Gordon,  a  Btitish  officer,  and  rifling 
his  pockets;  of  which  act  General  Carlton  complain 
ed,  and  demanded  his  trial  for  murder.  The  Ameri 
can  officer  in  command  did  not  think  the  act,  which 
was  one  of  daring,  demanded  such  a  title;  but  viewed 
it  as  a  consequence  of  war,  and  soon  the  matter  was 
hushed. 

While  on  duty  at  Fort  Ticonderoga,  Wright  and 
his  captain  went  on  a  scout  toward  the  lower  end  of 
lake  Champlain,  where  they  unexpectedly  fell  in  with 
and  captured  two  British  officers  well  mounted.  They 
proved  to  be' a  pay-master  and  lieutenant;  who,  not 
expecting  a  foe  so  far  from  the  American  camp,  were 
off  their  guard,  and  easily  secured  by  their  rifle-poised 
captors.  The  horses  could  not  be  taken  along,  and 
they  were  set  free  in  the  road,  to  return  to  their  mas 
ters'  former  quarters.  After  the  prisoners  were  dis 
mounted  and  disarmed,  they  inquired  the  names  of 
their  more  fortunate  companions.  At  hearing  the 
name  of  W^hitcomb  the  pay-master  turned  deadly 
pale,  and  inquired  with  evident  agitation,  "  Are  you 
the  man  who  shot  Major  Gordon?  " 

"I  suppose  that  I  am;"  replied  the  captain. 
Wright,  who  witnessed  t  the  effect  of  this  announce 
ment,  divined  that  a  desperate  effort  might  be  made 
by  the  prisoners  to  escape,  and  advanced  with  a 


256  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

ready  rifle  to  a  commanding  position;  when  he  as 
sured  them  they  should  have  good  quarters,  and  not 
be  injured  unless  they  tried  to  escape;  in  which  event 
they  would  be  sent  to  oblivion  in  a  hurry  !  This  assu 
rance  tended  to  quiet  their  fears,  and  soon  the  party 
were  threading  a  circuitous  route  for  Ticonderoga. 
The  pay-master  chanced  to  have  no  funds  on  his  per 
son,  on  which  account  he  may  have  felt  the  more 
secure.  When  the  captures  were  made,  the  scout 
were  just  out  of  provisions,  and  early  the  next  morn 
ing,  as  Wright  was  the  best  runner,  it  was  settled 
that  he  should  proceed  to  the  fort  with  all  possible 
dispatch;  obtain  food,  and  return  to  succor  the  party, 
which  was  to  proceed  up  the  lake  shore.  The  adven 
ture  was  carried  out  as  anticipated,  and  in  a  few  days 
all  arrived  safely  at  Ticonderoga.  Soon  after,  the 
captives  were  exchanged. 

Wright  ever  spake  highly  of  this  lieutenant,  whose 
name  is  now  forgotten.  Just  before  they  parted,  the 
latter  addressed  him  as  follows,  "  Wright,  you  have 
been  kind  to  us,  and  I  shall  always  retain  grateful 
feelings  toward  you.  We  shall  be  down  the  next 
campaign,  and  then  you  may  rely  on  my  friendship, 
as  you  must  and  will  be  subjugated  !  " 

"  You  go  to  the  devil!  "  replied  Wright.  "  If  you 
come  again,  death  is  your  portion.  You  talk  of  sub 
duing  the  States;  when  you  come  again,  you  fetch 
your  coffins  with  you,  for  you  'II  surely  want  them!  " 

He  continued  with  the  northern  army,  acting  much 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  257 

of  the  time  either  as  a  scout  or  a  spy,  until  after  the 
surrender  of  Burgoyne.  Some  few  days  before  that 
event,  being  on  a  scout  in  the  vicinity  of  the  British 
army,  a  violent  rain-storm  came  on,  and  he  sought  a 
temporary  shelter  beneath  the  trunk  of  a  leaning  tree; 
with  his  blanket  over  his  shoulders,  and  his  rifle  in  a 
position  to  be  kept  dry.  While  thus  situated,  his 
quick  ear  detected  amid  the  roaring  elements,  an  ap 
proaching  footstep;  and  looking  up,  he  saw  a  large 
wolf  just  ready  to  spring  upon  him.  He  carefully 
raised  his  piece,  and  without  bringing  it  to  his  shoul 
der,  discharged  it,  the  muzzle  being  within  a  few 
feet  of  the  animal's  head,  which  was  literally  blown 
off.  Thus  did  he  scalp  one  English  ally. 

Recollecting  his  former  friend,  the  British  lieuten 
ant,  Wright  sought  for  him  among  the  vanquished, 
and  found  him  an  object  of  commiseration.  He  had 
been  wounded,  and  what  with  his  sufferings  and  pri 
vations,  had  grown  dejected;  sick  in  body  and  mind; 
and  did  not  readily  recognize  his  former  captor. 
When  he  did  he  saluted  him  with  great  emotion.  In 
deed,  the  meeting  was  such  as  caused  the  better  feelings 
of  both  to  mingle  in  a  flow  of  tears.  Wright  was  the 
first  to  regain  his  self-possession,  and  broke  forth  in 
a  strain  between  seriousness  and  jesting  much  as  fol 
lows: — "  By !  you  are  a  lucky  devil  though.  I 

supposed  you  long  since  dead,  as  I  told  you  you  would 
be  at  the  end  of  this  campaign;  but  I  rejoice  to  find 

you  still  alive,  and  hope  you  may  live  to  repent  of 

22* 


258  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

your  sins;  but  by  the  heavens,  if  I  ever  find  you  in 
arms  against  the  States  again,  I  will  surely  blow 
your  brains  to  the  four  winds !  " 

Wright  with  no  little  trouble  got  his  friend  in  a 
wagon  and  conveyed  him  to  a  place  of  security, 
where  he  was  well  cared  for,  and  soon  after  they 
parted,  as  they  supposed,  for  ever.  The  winter  fol 
lowing,  the  lieutenant  was  retained  with  many  other 
prisoners  in  Boston;  and  having  occasion  to  visit 
that  city  in  the  mean  time,  Wright  and  his  British 
friend  again  met;  the  latter  then  in  good  health  and 
fine  spirits.  After  several  days  of  social  intercourse 
the  friends  finally  parted,  but  not  until  the  lieutenant 
had  pressed  upon  the  acceptance  of  his  guest  numer 
ous  presents;  with  an  assurance  that  no  consideration 
would  ever  induce  him  to  be  found  in  arms  again, 
against  so^  brave  and  generous  a  people.  Wright 
said  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  that  of  all  the  friends 
he  ever  rnet,  this  military  foeman  gave  him  the 
heartiest  welcome." 

Wright  took  no  active  part  in  the  war  after  1777, 
but  followed  his  favorite  avocation  of  a  hunter  in  the 
northerly  part  of  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont; 
which  the  neutrality  of  the  latter  state,  then  a  terri 
tory  in  dispute,  enabled  him  to  do.  Soon  after  the 
war,  he,  and  a  cousin  of  his,  named  Belden,  who  was 
usually  called  the  Rattle-snake  hunter,  began  to  fre 
quent  the  shores  of  lakes  Champlain  and  George,  and 
their  inlets;  as  also  the  sources  of  the  Hudson,  in 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  259 

quest  of  fur.  Belden  bore  a  deadly  hatred  to  rattle 
snakes,  and  when  near  their  haunts  was  continually 
warring  with  them;  hence  his  significant  appellation. 
The  following  incident  attending  his  snake-killing,  I 
shall  give  very  nearly  in  my  correspondent's  own 
words. 

"  One  day  in  early  spring,  as  they  were  on  the 
west  shore  of  the  lake  near  fort  Ty.,  and  upon  a  ledge 
of  rocks ;  they  came  to  a  den  just  as  the  snakes  had 
crawled  from  their  winter  slumber,  and  lay  basking 
in  the  warm  noon-day  sun.  Belden  was  dressed  for 
hunting,  having  on  a  loose  woolen  frock  retiring  be 
low  the  knee,  with  shoes  and  leggins  to  match. 
Armed  with  a  long  stick  in  one  hand,  and  a  short 
one  in  the  other,  Belden  led  the  way  to  the  snakes; 
and  Wright  followed  with  his  companion's  dog  and 
gun.  Belden's  eyes  flashed  fire  at  the  sight  before 
him,  and  a  smile  on  his  lips  betrayed  that  their 
snakeships'  quarters  would  surely  be  beaten  up.  He 
began  the  onset  striking  and  dealing  death  at  every 
blow,  jumping  and  springing  from  one  to  the  other, 
in  fear  that  some  might  take  shelter  in  the  rocks. 

"  In  his  eagerness,  his  foot  slipped  as  he  was  aim 
ing  a  blow  at  a  monster  that  lay  in  a  fighting  atti 
tude,  and  he  fell  forward.  He  tried  to  keep  himself 
off  from  the  dangerous  reptile,  but  without  effect,  and 
it  struck  his  frock  near  his  chin,  and  hung  fast  by  its 
fangs.  Both  fell  down  together,  rolled  off  the  ledge 
and  down  a  declivity,  some  twelve  feet,  tumbling 


260  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

over  and  over;  the  snake  coming  up  at  the  last  roll. 
Belden  bounded  up,  seized  the  snake  round  the  neck, 
loosened  its  fangs,  and  whipped  it  to  death  against 
the  rocks;  as  his  sticks  had  been  lost  in  the  fight. 
Wright  often  said  this  was  the  only  time  he  ever  saw 
Belden  either  scared  or  even  started  by  danger;  but 
the  snakes  had  rest  the  remainder  of  the  day." 

The  two  friends  followed  trapping  for  several  sea 
sons  in  the  region  of  country  under  consideration, 
and  until  beaver  began  to  grow  scarce;  for  the  reader 
must  not  suppose  that  they  were  sole  monarchs  there; 
Indian  hunters  were  continually  crossing  their  tracks. 
As  game  grew  scarce,  however,  they  occasionally 
hunted  for  a  season  as  far  eastward  as  the  present 
state  of  Maine.  While  hunting  in  the  neighborhood 
of  lake  Champlain  they  used  a  light  skiff  to  coast 
with,  and  navigate  streams.  On  one  occasion  when 
they  had  moored  their  little  barque  in  some  safe  nook, 
they  set  off  to  visit  their  traps  in  different  directions; 
to  meet  at  might  at  the  starting  point.  Wright  re 
turned  just  at  sunset  much  fatigued,  and  as  his  com 
rade  was  not  there,  he  deposited  his  game,  laid  down 
in  the  boat,  and  was  soon  in  a  sound  slumber;  from 
which  he  did  not  awake  until  it  was  quite  dark. 

He  was  then  aroused  by  what  he  supposed  the 
halloo  of  his  companion,  and  while  listening  to  hear 
the  voice  again,  Belden  made  his  appearance,  loaded 
down  with  a  deer  and  other  game,  which  he  deposited 
in  the  boat.  Wright  asked  him  if  he  had  heard  a 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  261 

human  voice,  or  any  thing  resembling  it,  and  was 
answered  in  the  negative.  Wright  stepped  to  the 
bow  of  the  boat  to  loosen  it,  when  he  was  met  by  a 
loud  scream  and  the  glaring  eye-balls  of  a  monstrous 
panther  directly  before  him.  "  Well  Belden,"  he  ex 
claimed  starting  back,  you  have  brought  a  fine  friend  to 
supper!  "  "  Yes,"  replied  the  latter,  "  and  just  wait 
until  I  give  him  a  polite  reception."  Snatching  up 
his  rifle  he  discharged  it,  almost  scorching  the  ani 
mal's  head;  still  it  was  not  hurt  or  frightened  from 
its  purpose;  but  stood  at  the  bow  and  prevented  them 
from  untying.  Wright  then  fired  also  without  effect. 
Belden  had  soon  reloaded,  and  with  a  piece  of  chalk 
carried  for  the  purpose,  he  whitened  the  barrel  of  his 
rifle,  took  a  more  deliberate  aim  at  the  glaring  target 
and  fired  again;  when  a  scream  and  a  few  scratches 
followed,  and  all  was  still.  Belden  then  hauled  the 
animal  into  the  boat,  cast  it  off;  and  away  they 
steered  for  their  camp.  The  panther  proved  an  ex 
ceedingly  large  and  old  one;  its  teeth  were  mostly 
gone,  and  it  appeared  to  have  been  in  the  last  stage 
of  starvation. 

When  the  hunting  of  fur  in  his  former  haunts 
would  no  longer  pay,  Wright  removed  to  the  westward. 
About  the  year  1796,  he  settled  in  the  present  town 
of  Norway,  N.  Y.,  at  which  time  he  was  some  forty- 
five  or  fifty  years  of  age.  He  then  had  a  family, 
which  consisted  of  his  wife,  whom  he  invariably 
called  Nabby,  a  son,  named  Jonathan,  and  three 


262  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

daughters.  He  wore,  when  hunting,  a  coat,  called 
at  that  time  a  French  coat,  which  fastened  tightly 
round  the  waist,  and  moccasons,  or  shoe  packs,  as 
then  denominated.  He  was  never  known  to  wear 
boots  or  shoes  in  hunting.  When  he  left  home  on 
a  hunt,  he  was  laden  with  his  traps,  about  fifty  pounds 
of  corn-meal,  and  his  gun;  with  possibly  some  few 
other  fixins.  Thus  provided  he  would  enter  the 
forest,  and  at  times  be  gone  for  months,  subsisting  on 
his  meal  and  what  his  gun  and  traps  could  provide 
him;  with  the  addition  of  now  and  then  a  trout.  He 
had,  as  all  men  of  his  craft  have,  to  eat  many  scanty 
meals;  but  on  returning  to  the  settlements  he  made 
ample  amends  for  all  privations  in  eating  and  drink 
ing.  He  became  known  soon  after  his  arrival  in 
Norway,  by  the  familiar  title  of  Uncle  Jock.  Most 
people  at  that  day  were  fond  of  liquor,  and  our  hero 
among  the  rest. 

"  Uncle  Jock,"  said  a  friend  one  day,  " •  has 

stolen  your  jug!  "  JL  man  who  could  scent  a  beaver 
in  the  water,  could  easily  find  the  course  his  jug  had 
taken,  and  soon  he  overtook  the  thief;  not,  however, 
until  he  had  secreted  the  stolen  treasure.  He  refused 
to  disclose  where  it  was,  and  old  Nimrod  clenched 
and  threw  him  upon  the  ground,  where  he  struggled 
manfully,  but  to  little  purpose;  as  his  hands  were 
soon  secured,  and  his  conqueror  had  one  to  spare. 
With  an  uplifted  fist  shouted  the  victor,  "  Now  tell 
me  what  you  have  done  with  the  rum,  or  to  heaven 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  263 

or  hell  in  a  moment!"  The  brief  time  alloted  for 
repentance,  instantly  disclosed  the  whereabouts  of  the 
jug,  and  a  promise  to  pay  all  demands. 

Some  four  or  five  years  before  Uncle  Jock  pitched 
his  tent  in  Norway,  a  singular  individual  named  Ni 
chols  began  the  life  of  a  hunter  in  the  forests  contig 
uous  to  Norway.  He  was  from  some  place  in  New 
Hampshire,  upon  the  Connecticut  river.  He  was  to 
appearance  some  forty  years  of  age,  of  middling  sta 
ture,  mild  disposition;  and  in  his  deportment  was 
simple,  honest  and  obliging.  He  lived  the  most  of 
his  time  in  the  wilderness  by  hunting  and  trapping. 
He  was  something  of  a  musician,  and  kept  a  fiddle  in 
his  camp,  with  which  to  cheer  his  hermitage.  The 
only  living  object  of  his  care  was  a  favorite  hound, 
imported  by  Arthur  Noble,  from  Ireland;  "  Which," 
as  my  correspondent  observes,  "  was  one  of  no  vulgar 
blood;  but  a  real  Johnny  Bull -pup!"  His  fiddle, 
hound,  rifle  and  traps,  constituted  the  principal  stock 
in  trade  of  this  secluded  hunter. 

Nichols  was  at  first  an  unpracticed  hunter,  took 
but  little  fur,  and  as  supposed  made  a  poor  living; 
for  which  reason  it  was  thought  by  the  few  who  now 
and  then  saw  him;  that  he  must  have  some  resources 
to  lean  upon,  besides  the  avails  of  his  avocation;  as 
he  was  always  in  funds  to  pay  down  for  his  plain 
wearing  apparel,  and  things  needed  in  his  isolated 
camp.  For  a  long  time  he  avoided  society,  and  was 
disinclined  to  speak  of  his  former  residence  or  pur- 


264  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

suits;  but  before  his  death  it  became  known  that  he 
was  a  good  mathematician,  and  a  mill-wright  of  the 
first  order.  From  him  the  carpenters  in  that  part  of 
Herkimer  county  first  learned  to  frame  by  the  square 
rule,  casting  aside  for  ever  their  scribe  rule*  He  was 
looked  upon  as  a  man  of  superior  abilities,  and  what 
could  have  induced  him  to  adopt  a  wilderness  life 
was  a  mystery  then,  indeed,  is  to  the  present  day. 

When  Uncle  Jock  moved  into  his  neighborhood, 
Nichols,  to  whom  he  was  previously  known,  became 
his  partner  in  the  chase,  and  under  his  teaching  after 
wards  proved  a  very  successful  trapper.  It  was  not 
known  in  Norway  until  Uncle  Jock  settled  there,  that 
Nichols  had  left  a  good  property  in  land  and  mills  on 
the  Connecticut  river,  to  which  he  never  returned,  or 
even  looked  after.  Although  it  was  never  satisfac 
torily  known  what  induced  Nichols  to  abandon  his 
property  and  friends,  still  it  was  believed  to  be  solely 
attributable  to  disappointment  in  love.  But  whether 
some  fair  daughter  of  Yankeedom  sighed  her  gentle 
spirit  away  with  "  hope  deferred,"  or  whether  Ni 
chols  plodded  his  wreary  way  through  the  wilderness 
in  fruitless  attempts  to  forget  some  maiden, ' 

With  raven  locks  and  lily  skin, 

And  cheeks  with  dimples  deep  within, 

can  not  be  told,  as  the  secret  died  with  him. 

Uncle  Jock  and  Nichols,  together  in  their  trapping 
excursions  for  beaver  and  other  game,  became  fami 
liar  with  nearly  every  source  of  the  East  and  West 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  265 

Canada  creeks,  Black,  Racket,  and  Sacondaga  rivers. 
They  were  as  familiar  with  the  lakes  and  water 
courses  on  and  contiguous  to  Brown's  tract,  as  is  a  hen 
with  her  own  chickens.  Nichols,  in  tracing  a  small 
stream  that  is  tributary  to  the  West  Canada  creek, 
obtained  upon  or  near  it,  a  fine  specimen  of  lead  ore; 
but  its  locality  has  been  sought  for  since,  as  yet  in 
vain.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  Nichols  renewed 
his  avocation  of  a  mill-wright,  and  only  hunted  in  the 
fall  and  winter.  He  was  drowned  while  repairing  a 
mill,  in  1803. 

In  one  of  his  rambles  after  his  partner's  death,  Uncle 
Jock  discovered  a  lake  that  is  now  called  Jock's  lake, 
to  which  I  have  elsewhere  alluded.  It  has  for  years 
been  a  great  resort  for  trout  fishing.  He  said  that 
when  he  first  visited  it,  it  appeared  to  be  alive  with 
fish,  and  for  several  years  it  became  known  to  him 
alone.  From  it  he  would  take  loads  of  trout  at  al 
most  any  season  of  the  year  to  the  settlements. 

Many  individuals  not  hunters,  but  who  were  anx 
ious  to  have  a  hunt,  if  it  were  only  to  be  able  to  say 
that  they  had  been  in  the  woods  and  camped  out  with 
a  master  hunter;  used  to  urge  their  company  upon 
Uncle  Jock;  indeed,  not  a  few  of  this  sort  received 
the  tuition  of  Stoner  and  Foster.  In  a  few  of  his 
trapping  seasons  Uncle  Jock  was  accompanied  by  a 
stout  able-bodied  man,  named  Simmons,  who  was 
usually  called  Crookneck,  probably  from  some  pecu 
liar  inclination  of  his  head.  They  were  on  snow- 
23 


266  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

shoes  in  the  month  of  March,  hunting  marten;  or  as 
called  by  hunters  wan-pur-noc-er.  The  bait  used  for 
those  animals,  which  are  a  variety  of  weasel,  is  fresh 
meat;  and  as  the  hunters  had  taken  no  gun  along, 
they  had  to  depend  on  a  dog  to  run  down  deer  for 
marten-bait  and  their  own  food;  which  the  crusted 
snow  enabled  them  to  do. 

Their  dog  one  day  got  a  large  buck  at  bay,  and 
the  hunters  approaching  to  kill  it.  Crookneck  came 
up  first,  and  hurried  up  thinking  to  seize  the  animal 
by  its  antlers  and  throw  it  down.  As  he  approached 
the  worried  deer,  it  made  a  furious  plunge  at  him. 
Falling  short  of  its  aim,  it  drove  a  hoof  through  one 
of  his  snow-shoes  as  Crookneck  fell  backwards !  and 
not  being  familiar  with  the  use  of  such  broad  "  un 
derstandings,"  it  turned  a  somerset  and  fell  upon  the 
top  of  its  antagonist.  The  newly  initiated  hunter, 
by  his  loud  yells  for  help,  gave  evidence  that  his 
lungs  were  in  good  condition;  and  soon  the  master 
hunter  was  on  hand,  who  drew  his  hunting  knife,  cut 
the  deer's  hamstrings,  and  then  easily  dispatched  him. 
As  the  liberated  hunter  regained  his  feet,  Uncle  Jock 
dryly  remarked,  "  Well  Simmons,  you  are  older  than 
you  might  have  .been !  If  the  buck  had  not  fallen  a 
little  short,  you  would  have  been  in  oblivion  now! " 

At  another  time  during  the  hunt,  the  dog  started  a 
large  moose,  and  as  the  crust  cut  its  legs,  it  stopped 
and  kept  the  dog  at  bay  until  the  hunters  approached. 
Uncle  Jock  wanted  his  companion  to  kill  it,  but 


TRAPPERS  OF  SEW  YORK.  267 

nothing  could  induce  him  to  approach  very  near  it. 
The  senior  hunter  then  initiated  Crookneck  into  a 
new  degree  in  game  killing.  He  cut  a  pole,  tied  his 
knife  to  the  end  of  it,  and  gaining  the  cover  of  a  tree 
sufficiently  near,  he  very  dexterously  wielded  his  pole 
and  hamstrung  the  animal,  when  it  \vas  easily  de 
stroyed.  To  give  his  comrade  a  third  degree  in  the 
mysterious  art  of  slaughtering  large  animals  in  the 
forest,  without  a  gun;  when  the  dog  called  them  to 
another  moose,  Uncle  Jock  fastened  his  knife  to  a 
long  pole,  stole  up  behind  a  large  tree,  and  plunged 
the  blade  into  the  heart  of  his  victim. 

Uncle  Jock  was  ever  a  firm  believer  in  a  Supreme 
Being,  and  also  that  earnest  and  sincere  prayer,  if 
consistent  with  our  circumstances,  would  readily  be 
answered  by  Divine  Providence.  One  day  after  hear 
ing  an  over-zealous,  ignorant  preacher  pray  at  great 
length,  a  friend  inquired  how  he  liked  the  prayer? 
"  How  fortunate  it  was  for  him,"  he  replied,  "  that 
he  was  addressing  a  Being  that  knew  better  than  he 
did  what  he  wanted,  or  he  would  have  been  in  h —  in 
a  minute  !  and  at  all  events  if  he  told  the  truth,  he 
is  deserving  of  a  halter  or  state  prison  for  life  !  But 
though  a.  fool,  I  think  he  is  not  quite  as  wicked  as  he 
represents  himself." 

His  own  prayers  were  remarkably  brief,  and  de 
livered  with  great  earnestness.  They  could  hardly  be 
repeated  by  another,  however,  without  seeming  very 
profane;  and  yet  there  was  so  much  apparent  sincerity 


268  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

in  their  utterance  by  him,  as  to  divest  them  of  the 
levity  they  might  create  when  repeated  by  another. 
One  of  them,  which  tradition  has  preserved  entire,  I 
will  insert.  He  was  trapping  marten  in  the  month 
of  March,  with  Crookneck  Simmons  again  for  a  part 
ner,  and  was  severely  attacked  with  pleurisy.  Crook- 
neck  soon  became  alarmed  and  wanted  to  go  to  the 
nearest  settlement,  some  twenty  miles  off,  for  assist 
ance;  much  of  which  distance  it  would  be  necessary 
to  travel  upon  snow-shoes;  but  to  this  proposition 
Uncle  Jock  would  not  consent.  It  was  in  vain  for 
him  to  remonstrate,  however.  In  vain  he  told  Crook- 
neck,  that  it  would  take  him  two  days  to  accomplish 
the  journey,  in  which  time  he  must  perish  with  cold, 
if  not  by  disease,  as  he  could  not  keep  his  own  fire 
going;  but  go  he  would,  and  start  he  did. 

Simmons  had  been  gone  but  a  few  minutes,  when 
the  invalid,  concious  that  he  must  soon  die,  unless 
relieved  immediately,  uttered  with  great  earnestness 
the  following  prayer.  "  Great  God,  Jehovah,  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Lord!  if  it  is  expedient  that  I  should  come 
in  and  see  Nobby  and  Jonathan  again,  let  it  be  brought 
to  a  crisis  d quick  !!  " 

After  the  utterance  of  this  laconic  and  eccentric 
petition,  the  sick  man  said  he  not  only  felt  greatly 
relieved  in  mind,  but  also  a  consciousness  that  it  would 
be  answered;  and  in  about  half  an  hour  Crookneck 
returned.  "  The  more  haste  the  less  speed,"  is  an 
old  adage,  was  verified  in  his  case;  for  in  attempting 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  269 

to  proceed  as  fast  as  possible,  he  got  an  improper 
angle  into  his  neck,  and  down  he  went,  breaking  one 
of  his  snow-shoes;  and  not  having  ingenuity  enough 
to  repair  it,  he  returned  to  their  wigwam,  where  his 
sick  friend  was  still  lying  upon  a  hurdle  of  hemlock 
boughs.  The  latter  got  him  to  sharpen  his  hunting 
knife,  and  also  to  cord  his  arm;  when  he  took  the 
knife  and  bled  himself.  Simmons  fainted  and  fell, 

and  Uncle  Jock  said  "  he  really  thought  the  d 

fool  would  die  first !  " 

After  a  copious  flow  of  blood,  the  invalid  stopped 
it  by  thrusting  a  pin  through  the  orifice,  and  winding 
it  with  a  lock  of  his  own  hair.  In  a  little  while 
Simmons  got  about  again,  and  in  their  camp-kettle 
made  a  strong  decoction  of  hemlock  boughs,  of  which 
Uncle  Jock  drank  freely  and  laid  down,  when  he  ex 
perienced,  as  he  said,  the  greatest  relief  he  ever  did 
in  so  short  a  space  of  time.  He  fell  into  a  slumber 
which  lasted  several  hours,  and  when  he  awoke  he 
was  entirely  free  from  pain.  The  third  day  after  he 
reached  a  settlement,  and  the  fourth  his  prayer  was 
answered,  by  again  embracing  his  dear  Nobby  and 
little  Jonathan. 

Uncle  Jock,  it  is  believed,  never  had  any  serious 
difficulty  with  either  Indian  or  white  hunters.  He 
often  spoke  of  the  hind  quarters  of  a  beaver,  as  afford 
ing  the  most  dainty  morsel  an  epicure  could  obtain; 
being  preferable,  as  he  said,  to  any  other  meat  or  fish, 

because  it  possessed  the  virtues  of  both.     This  wilder- 
23* 


270  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

ness-explorer  seldom  said  bitter  things  of  any  one; 
but  if  insulted,  the  offender  was  pretty  sure  sooner  or 
later,  to  feel  his  dry  sarcasm.  He  received  a  pension 
from  our  government  for  Revolutionary  services,  under 
the  first  pension  act;  which  might  with  proper  econo 
my  have  kept  him  and  his  Nabby  from  want,  without 
the  necessity  of  his  hunting,  as  his  children  were 
grown  up  and  married;  but  it  only  tended  to  make 
him  the  more  independent  of  the  settlements,  and 
bury  himself  still  deeper  among  the  ever-greens  of 
the  forest,  from  which  he  could  not  be  Weaned. 

It  was  his  usual  custom  to  look  up  suitable  loca 
tions  for  fall  hunting  in  June,  when  trees  would  peel 
the  best;  at  which  time  he  would  build  himself  com 
fortable  bark  huts  for  fall  and  winter  use.  Hunting 
seemed  to  have  become  with  him  a  second  nature, 
and  he  followed  it  to  the  last.  When  his  eye  grew 
dim  and  his  arm  unsteady,  so  that  he  could  no  longer 
use  his  trusty  rifle,  he  would  still  venture,  unattended 
even  by  a  dog  into  the  far-off  wilderness;  and  there, 
armed  only  with  a  hatchet,  follow  his  avocation  for 
weeks.  "  He  often  said,"  says  my  correspondent, 
"  the  howling  of  the  wolf,  the  growling  of  the  bear, 
and  the  screaming  of  the  panther,  kept  him  from 
being  lonesome,  and  was  music  to  his  ears.  Such  is 
man  of  the  woods!  The  comforts  of  social  life  afford 
no  enjoyment  for  him." 

After  a  hunt,  he  came  into  the  settlement  with  beaver 
and  other  furs,  took  them  to  market,  returned  home, 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  271 

sat  down  to  the  table  to  eat,  and  fell  dead  upon  the 
floor  without  a  struggle  or  groan,  we  believe  in  the 
seventy-fifth  year  of  his  age.  He  died  about  the 
year  1826. 

The  following  brief  notice  of  a  hunter  of  northern 
New  York,  appeared  in  the  newspapers,  in  January, 
1850. 

Death  of  a  Nimrod. — The  St.  Lawrence  Republi 
can  says  that  Mr.  Thomas  Meacham,  of  the  town  of 
Hopkinton,  St.  Lawrence  county,  who  died  a  few 
weeks  ago,  and  who,  for  several  years,  was  a  resi 
dent  of  the  North  West  Bay  road,  of  what  they  then 
called  township  No.  10,  in  Franklin  county,  on  East- 
brook,  near  the  bounds  of  Hopkinton,  was  something 
of  a  hunter.  He  kept  an  exact  account  of  the  game 
killed  by  him,  which  amounts  to  the  following:  num 
ber  of  wolves,  214;  panthers  77;  bears  219;  deer 
2,550. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Believing  that  the  reader  who  has  followed  the 
footsteps  of  our  trappers,  would  be  interested  in 
knowing  something  more  of  the  animals  they  sought 
for  fur,  and  of  their  habits,  I  here  insert  a  portion  of 
their  history.  The  full  grown  Beaver  will  weigh 
from  fifty  to  sixty  pounds,  and  is  about  four  feet  in 
length  from  the  snout  to  the  end  of  the  tail.  The 
tail  is  a  foot  long,  five  or  six  inches  wide,  by  one 
inch  in  thickness;  and  what  is  peculiar,  although  the 
body  of  the  animal  is  so  well  covered  with  fur  and 
hair,  the  tail  is  without  either,  except  at  its  insertion, 
and  is  covered  with  scales.  The  fore  part  of  the 
beaver  has  the  taste  and  consistency  of  land  animals, 
while  the  hind  legs  and  tail  have  not  only  the  smell, 
but  the  savor  and  nearly  all  the  qualities  of  fish. 

This  peculiarity  is  thought  by  some  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  habits  of  the  animal,  as  when  in  the  water 
its  hind  legs  and  tail  are  submerged  and  never  seen; 
but  it  appears  rather  to  be  a  connecting  link  between 
the  inhabitants  of  land  and  water,  its  singularity  in 
this  respect  being  placed  by  nature  beyond  the  con 
trol  of  mere  circumstance.  The  beaver,  when  cap 
tured  young,  may  easily  be  domesticated,  and  when 
hungry  will  ask  by  a  plaintive  cry  for  food.  It  is  not 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  273 

very  particular  about  its  food,  if  of  some  green  vege 
table  kind;  but  it  generally  refuses  meat. 

The  bait  used  to  entice  beaver  to  a  hunter's  trap  is 
castoreum,  as  I  have  elsewhere  remarked.  This  sub 
stance  is  obtained  from  the  glandulous  pouches  of  the 
male  animal,  and  is  often  called  by  hunters  barkstone. 
It  is  squeezed  by  hand  into  some  vessel  such  as  a  cup 
or  bottle;  a  full  grown  animal  affording  several 
ounces.  Beaver  castor  is  sometimes  used  by  physi 
cians  in  medical  practice.  Oil,  extracted  from  the 
tail  of  the  beaver,  is  used  medicinally  by  the  Indians. 
The  beaver  is  found  only  in  cold  or  northern  latitudes. 
Its  senses  are  acute.  In  its  habits  it  is  very  neat,  and 
will  allow  no  filth  near  its  habitation. 

In  its  natural  or  forest  life,  where  undisturbed  by 
man,  the  beaver  is  social  in  its  habits,  often  number 
ing  twenty  or  more  habitations  in  a  single  commu 
nity,  containing  from  two  to  twenty  members  each  at 
some  seasons  of  the  year,  as  circumstances  warrant. 
The  following  account  of  the  manner  in  which  those 
sagacious  animals  construct  their  dams  and  dwellings, 
is  from  Godman's  Natural  History. 

"  They  are  not  particular  in  the  site  they  select  for 
the  establishment  of  their  dwellings,  but  if  in  a  lake 
or  pond,  where  a  dam  is  not  required,  they  are  care 
ful  to  build  wrhere  the  water  is  sufficiently  deep.  In 
standing  waters,  however,  they  have  not  the  advan 
tage  afforded  by  a  current  for  the  transportation  of 
their  supplies  of  wood;  which,  when  they  build  on  a 


274  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

running  stream,  is  always  cut  higher  up  than  the 
place  of  their  residence,  and  floated  down. 

"  The  material  used  for  the  construction  of  their 
dams,  are  the  trunks  and  branches  of  small  birch, 
mulberry,  willow,  poplar,  &c.«  They  begin  to  cut 
down  their  timber  for  building,  early  in  the  summer, 
but  their  edifices  are  not  commenced  until  about  the 
middle  or  latter  part  of  August,  and  are  not  com 
pleted  until  the  beginning  of  the  cold  season.  The 
strength  of  their  teeth,  and  their  perseverance  in  this 
work,  may  be  fairly  estimated,  by  the  size  of  the 
trees  they  cut  down.  These  are  cut  in  such  a  man 
ner  as  to  fall  into  the  water,  and  then  floated  towards 
the  site  of  the  dam  or  dwelling.  Small  shrubs,  £c., 
cut  at  a  distance  from  the  water,  they  drag  with  their 
teeth  to  the  stream,  and  then  launch  and  tow  them  to 
the  place  of  deposit.  At  a  short  distance  above  a 
beaver  dam,  the  number  of  trees  which  have  been 
cut  down,  appears  truly  surprising,  and  the  regularity 
of  the  stumps  which  are  left,  might  lead  persons  un 
acquainted  with  the  habits  of  the  animals  to  believe, 
that  the  clearing  was  the  result  of  human  industry. 

"  The  figure  of  the  dam  varies  according  to  cir 
cumstances.  Should  the  current  be  very  gentle,  the 
dam  is  carried  nearly  straight  across;  but  when  the 
stream  is  swiftly  flowing,  it  is  uniformly  made  with  a 
considerable  curve,  having  the  convex  part  opposed 
to  the  current.  Along  with  the  trunks  and  branches 
of  trees,  they  intermingle  mud  and  stones,  to  give 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  275 

greater  security;  and  when  dams  have  been  long  un 
disturbed  and  frequently  repaired,  they  acquire  great 
solidity,  and  their  power  of  resisting  the  pressure  of 
water  and  ice,  is  greatly  increased  by  the  willow, 
birch,  &c.,  occasionally  taking  root,  and  eventually 
growing  up  into  something  of  a  regular  hedge.  The 
materials  used  in  constructing  the  dams,  are  secured 
solely  by  the  resting  of  the  branches,  &c.,  against  the 
bottom,  and  the  subsequent  accumulation  of  mud  and 
stones,  by  the  force  of  the  stream,  or  by  the  industry 
of  the  beavers. 

"The  dwellings  of  the  beaver  are  formed  of  the 
same  materials  as  their  dams,  and  are  very  rude, 
though  strong,  and  adapted  in  size  to  the  number  of 
their  inhabitants.  There  are  seldom  more  than  four 
old,  and  six  or  eight  young  ones.  Double  of  that 
number  have  been  occasionally  found  in  one  of  the 
lodges,  though  it  is  by  no  means  a  very  common 
occurrence. 

"  When  building  their  houses,  they  place  most  of 
the  wood  cross-wise,  and  nearly  horizontally,  observ 
ing  no  other  order  than  that  of  leaving  a  cavity  in 
the  middle.  Branches,  which  project  inward,  are  cut 
off  with  their  teeth  and  thrown  among  the  rest.  The 
houses  are  by  no  means  built  of  sticks  first,  and  then 
plastered,  but  all  the  materials,  sticks,  mud  and  stones, 
if  the  latter  can  be  procured,  are  mixed  up  together, 
and  this  composition  is  employed  from  the  foundation 
to  the  summit.  The  mud  is  obtained  from  the  adja- 


276  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

cent  banks  or  bottom  of>  the  stream  or  pond,  near  the 
door  of  the  hut.  Mud  and  stones,  the  beaver  always 
carries  by  holding  them  between  his  fore  paws  and 
throat. 

"  Their  work  is  all  performed  at  night,  and  with 
much  expedition.  When  straw  or  grass  is  mingled 
with  the  mud  used  by  them  in  building,  it  is  an  acci 
dental  circumstance,  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  spot 
whence  the  latter  was  taken.  As  soon  as  any  part 
of  the  material  is  placed  where  it  is  intended  to  re 
main,  they  turn  round  and  give  it  a  smart  blow  with 
the  tail.  The  same  sort  of  blow  is  struck  by  them, 
on  the  surface  of  the  water  when  they  are  in  the  act 
of  diving. 

"  The  outside  of  the  hut  is  covered  or  plastered 
with  mud,  late  in  the  autumn,  and  after  frost  has  be 
gun  to  appear.  By  freezing  it  soon  becomes  almost 
as  hard  as  stone,  effectually  excluding  their  great 
enemy,  the  wolverine,  during  the  winter.  Their  habit 
of  walking  over  the  work  frequently  during  its  pro 
gress,  has  led  to  the  absurd  idea  of  their  using  their 
tail  as  a  trowel.  The  habit  of  flapping  with  the 
tail  is  retained  by  them  in  a  state  of  captivity,  and, 
unless  it  be  the  acts  already  mentioned,  appears  de 
signed  to  effect  no  particular  purpose.  The  houses, 
when  they  have  stood  for  some  time,  and  been  kept 
in  repair,  become  so  firm  from  the  consolidation  of  all 
the  materials,  as  to  require  great  exertion,  and  the 
ice  chisel,  or  other  iron  instruments,  to  be  broken 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEWARK.  277 

§ 

open.  The  laborious  nature  of  such  an  undertaking 
may  easily  be  conceived,  when  it  is  known  that  the 
tops  of  the  houses  are  generally  from  four  to  six  feet 
thick  at  the  apex  of  the  cone." 

The  tail  of  the  beaver  when  swimming,  serves  for 
a  rudder  to  aid  the  animal  in  its  changing  and  often 
rapid  movement  in  the  water.  Near  their  habitations, 
beavers  establish  magazines  of  green  bark  and  soft 
wood  for  food,  keeping  them  well  replenished;  and 
never  do  the  members  of  one  family  plunder  from  the 
larder  of  another.  A  community  of  beavers,  although 
it  may  consist  of  several  hundred  members,  is  seldom 
disturbed  by  domestic  difficulties;  peace  and  harmony 
being  the  bond  which  cements  their  union.  If  an 
individual  is  threatened  with  danger,  it  immediately 
takes  measures  to  forewarn  the  whole  village ;  which 
is  done  by  striking  the  water  furiously  with  its  tail. 
Thus  apprised»-of  an  enemy's  proximity,  the  animals 
take  shelter  either  in  the  water  or  their  strong  dwell 
ings,  which  are  very  tidily  kept  in  order.  The  en 
trance  to  a  beaver's  dwelling  is  by  a  small  open  door 
towards  the  water.  The  legs  of  a  beaver  are  short, 
the  foot  has  four  toes,  and  what  is  remarkable,  the 
hind  feet  have  membranes  between  the  toes  to  aid  the 
animal  in  swimming. 

The  Otter,  which  is  also  hunted  for  its  valuable  fur, 
resembles  the  beaver  somewhat  in  size,  but  very  little 
in  its  general  habits.  It  lives  a  more  solitary  life, 

often  changing  its  habitation,  especially  in  the  winter, 
24 


278  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

when  seeking  to  find  unfrozen  water.  It  often  travels 
a  great  distance  at  such  times,  and  if  threatened  by 
danger  on  the  snow,  it  slides  on  its  belly  rapidly, 
leaving  a  furrow  behind  it.  Some  suppose  it  is  done 
by  the  animal  in  an  attempt  to  bury  itself  in  the 
snow.  This  is  not  the  case,  but  rather  a  necessity 
arising  from  the  shortness  of  its  legs,  as  proportioned 
to  its  body.  The  animal  has  been  known,  not  unfre- 
quently,  to  get  upon  a  hill  near  its  own  residence, 
when  covered  with  snow,  and  with  its  fore  feet  bent 
back,  slide  down  the  hill  for  several  rods,  with  great 
rapidity.  This  feat  is  evidently  performed  for  a  pas 
time. 

The  otter  usually  feeds  upon  fish,  frogs,  and  other 
small  animals;  and  when  they  can  not  be  obtained,  it 
will  eat  the  tender  branches  and  bark  growing  in  or 
near  the  water,  and  sometimes  grass.  They  are  bad 
economists  of  food,  and  often  annoy  a  community  of 
beavers,  by  destroying  their  husbanded  store  of  grow 
ing  eatables.  The  otter  is  less  numerous  than  the 
beaver,  and  its  fur  more  valuable.  The  foot  of  the 
otter  has  five  toes,  connected  by  webs,  like  the  toes 
of  a  duck.  It  displays  considerable  sagacity  in  pre 
paring  its  burrow,  which  it  makes  upward  under  a 
bank,  the  entrance  being  beneath  the  water,  and  that 
in  a  freshet  it  shall  not  be  drowned,  it  opens  a  small 
vent  to  the  surface,  often  concealed  by  leaves  and 
bushes.  The  otter  taken  young  has  been  tamed,  and 
taught  to  fish  for  its  master. 


TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK.  279 

The  Musk-rat  in  its  habits  much  resembles  the 
beaver,  but  is  small  as  compared  with  that  animal, 
being  scarcely  one-third  as  large.  It  is  called  the 
musk-rat,  because  it  is  furnished  with  a  peculiar 
matter,  of  a  strong  musky  odor.  The  entrance  to  its 
burrow  like  that  of  the  beaver,  is  usually"  made  under 
*  a  bank  beneath  the  water.  Its  food,  which  is  similar 
to  that  of  the  beaver,  is  usually  sought  in  the  night. 
Although  the  latter  animal  entirely  disappears  as  the 
country  becomes  settled,  it  is  not  so  with  the  musk- 
rat,  it  continues  its  proximity  to  man's  abode,  occu 
pying  marshy  lands  along  the  shore  of  some  river  or 
pond,  long  after  the  lands  are  cleared  up  and  culti 
vated  to  the  water's  edge.  It  is  an  excellent  swim 
mer,  and  dives  with  great  celerity.  The  flesh  of  the 
musk-rat  is  seldom  eaten  unless  in  cases  of  great 
hunger,  because  of  its  powerful  odor.  It  is  still  quite 
numerous  in  and  about  the  Mohawk  river,  where,  the 
country  has  been  settled  for  more  than  a  century,  and 
is  destroyed  every  spring  in  great  numbers,  when 
driven  from  its  burrows  by  heavy  freshets,  at  the 
breaking  up  of  winter.  On  such  occasions  the  banks 
of  the  Mohawk  are  lined  with  men  and  boys,  watch 
ing  with  eagle-eye  to  shoot  the  terrified  animals, 
which  are  often  slain  in  the  very  villages  contiguous 
to  the  river.  Not  unfrequently  they  are,  by  freshets, 
driven  up  drains  into  cellars,  where  they  make  great 
havoc  among  cabbage  and  other  vegetables  there 
stored. 


280  TRAPPERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 

The  Pine  Marten,  or  forest  weasel,  is  so  called,  be 
cause  of  its  preference  to  forests  of  pine,  in  the  lofty 
tops  of  which  it  resides.  It  lives  upon  small  quadru 
peds  and  birds,  obtained  in  the  forest,  and  seldom 
approaches  the  habitation  of  man.  It  sometimes 
lives  in  the  hollow  of  a  tree,  and  not  unfrequently 
takes  forcible  possession  of  a  squirrel's  nest,  which  it 
enlarges  and  occupies  to  rear  its  young.  The  fur  of 
the  marten  is  often  used  in  the  manufacture  of  hats, 
and  in  ornamenting  winter  dresses.  The  animal  is 
about  eighteen  inches  in  length  to  the  tail,  the  latter 
appendage  being  about  ten  inches  long.  The  male 
is  nearly  one-third  larger  than  the  female.  Trappers 
have  often  found  the  taking  of  the  marten  profitable. 

The  Wolverine,  which  annoys  the  hunter  by  steal 
ing  game  from  his  traps,  resembles  the  skunk  some 
what  in  appearance.  It  is  about  two  feet  two  inches 
long  from  the  end  of  the  nose  to  the  origin  of  the  tail, 
and  the  latter,  which  is  quite  bushy,  is  some  eight 
inches  long  to  the  end  of  the  hair.  The  animal  is 
very  strong  for  its,  size,  having  very  sharp  claws  and 
teeth.  It  is  covered  with  fur,  fcut  not  of  fine  quality. 
It  is  said  to  be  able  to  defend  itself  against  the  at 
tacks  of  much  larger  animals,  not  unfrequently  over 
powering  and  destroying  them. 


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